


Incorporeal Home Improvement

by TaraHarkon, Waywardwitchcat



Series: Incorporeal [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alcohol, Blood, Blood and Gore, F/M, Healthy Relationships, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, THEY'RE WORKING REAL HARD ON THIS Y'ALL, The power of friendship, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-27 08:47:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 68,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15682011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardwitchcat/pseuds/Waywardwitchcat
Summary: Rebuilding a home involves a lot of finding the less obvious spots that need repairing, tearing down old stuff, and deciding what to keep. Hard and messy work, but worth it in the end.





	1. Chapter 1

_Barry was running through the halls of his home, a wooden toy plane in one grubby hand as he made zoom noises. His free hand was on the bannister as he ran down the stairs past pictures of him and his mother. He could hear her records playing and he jumped the last few steps, landing with a thump. He turned a corner into the kitchen and stumbled forward, the suddenly too small toy falling from his adult hand as he saw Lydia smirking at him from the shadows by the open basement door. Rough hands grabbed his shoulders and he-  
_

  
And he sat bolt upright in bed, gasping and scrambling for his glasses on the nightstand beside him. He jammed them on, trying to keep himself quiet, trying to keep from waking Lup. He turned towards the clock and exhaled slowly. It was just after midnight... Today was the day they would officially get started on the repairs to the old house and start moving things in. Today was the day they would turn it back into a home. And he felt sick.

 

Lup murmured briefly and turned over, a crease forming between her eyebrows as she reached into an empty space. Slowly, her eyes opened and she sat up,   
  
“S’gonon, Bear? Nightmare or you reach your sleep limit?”   
  
They had, through trial and error, discovered that Barry didn’t so much ‘sleep’ anymore and didn’t need much more of it than Lup needed to meditate. They still vastly preferred sleeping together, but kept hitting snags as to when one or the other was _done_.

 

He fumbled his glasses off again and smiled, trying to swallow down the vaguely nauseous feeling in his gut. (Could he even _get_ sick?)   
  
“Just a... a bad dream. Go back to sleep, okay?”   
  
He was still tired, though he wasn’t sure if he could actually get back to sleep now. Reaching, he set his glasses back on the nightstand and then moved to lay back down.

“Y’sure? If you need talk about it...” this was said as Lup reached an arm over and buried her face into his side and was asleep again in two breaths.

 

Barry started to open his mouth to say he was fine and chuckled quietly as her breathing changed to the slower, quieter breathing of one fast asleep. He put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Hopefully, he would be able to fall back to sleep soon. Until then, he would just lay there and stare at the ceiling while he tried to silence the worries and fears screaming through his mind.  
  
By the time morning came and the sun was rising on the horizon, he was still very much awake with dark circles under his eyes and exhaustion only serving to make the screaming fears sluggish rather than stop entirely.

  
  
When Lup stirred again and woke for real, she kissed Barry’s neck good morning before actually looking at him and frowning,   
  
“Babe, you are going to make me use the phrase ‘dead on your feet’ and it won’t even be _funny_ .”   
  
She propped herself up on one elbow, hand tracing circles on his chest, maintaining enough of a distance so she wasn’t leaning over him.

 

"I don't know... I think its funny just uh... just on the grounds of being a pun? Like... it gets pun points and all that." He gave her a bit of a smile. "Sorry, I just... couldn't sleep."  
  
Catching her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed her palm. Then he rolled to his side and put an arm around her waist.   
  
"So, coffee before we go... go get to work or were you feeling breakfast out?"

 

Lup’s ears twitched back and she brought her hand up to cup his cheek,   
  
“Barry....”   
  
There was a warning note in her voice, and a frown line between her eyes.

 

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He didn't like that tone, not really, but he was doing his absolute best to suppress the urge to ask what he'd done wrong. Not if he'd done something wrong, but _what_ he had done wrong. On one level, he knew he was fine, she wasn't mad at him, that she would say if she was. But inside, he was still scared.   
  
"Nightmares. That's all. I've got that appointment with Merle tomorrow. I'll talk to him about it, Lup, I promise."

 

Lup bit back the instinct to press forward, to wrinkle out whatever _it_ was that was making his eyes far away and looking elsewhere, but....instead she consciously eased her ears up and leaned in to kiss him softly,   
  
“Okay, sounds good, babe.”   
  
She pushed herself up and stretched, “Kitchen’s all packed up, so breakfast out it is.”

 

Reaching for his glasses, he got up with a yawn. Digging around in the hamper of clean clothes, he pulled out one of the new pairs of jeans he'd picked up.Then he grinned back at her.   
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot we already did that... I thought Taako was gonna scream when he realized what all was uh... all of what you were claiming."

Lup rolled her eyes and reached over to grab a tank top off the bed post, “like Kravitz isn’t going to buy him all new anything he wants; fuck _yes_ I’m taking the mixer.”   
  
"Damn straight….Oh! Gotta make sure we get the pipes and the heat working or uh... or tonight's gonna suck, babe."

 

Pulling her top on and searching for a clean pair of shorts to go with, she waved a hand lazily,   
“Magnus checked that when he was helping set up the electricity, and I have a water filter _and_ a purifier charm.”

“Oh good, because I don't want to imagine a morning without coffee."

  
  
Lup walked out into the living room and through a fortress of boxes. All the things they needed unpacked right away had been kept to their room while Taako’s was completely empty. He’d moved to Kravitz’s apartment the week before. Lup and Barry had stayed out the semester while they waited for the house to be termite bombed.   
  
It was... _odd_ not having him in voice range for the first time in.... decades? Lup searched back through her memory, and yes, the last time they had had other people to live with was back in the 80s. And they were _still_ in the same building at that point.   
  
Well. This looked like it would be longer term. A LOT longer term. Better get on the road to getting _used_ to it.

  
  
Pulling a shirt on, Barry adjusted the harness as he walked after her. Stopping in the living room, he look around at all the boxes. Then he hugged her from behind, arms around her waist and his head resting against her shoulders.   
  
Even though he was looking forward to this, had been excited about it since the prospect of them living together had first come up, he was still nervous. What if things didn't work out? What if she didn't like the reality as much as the dream? Shit, he hadn't even had a roommate since college, let alone anything like this. He'd always lived alone and he'd almost definitely picked up some weird habits as a result. And that was ignoring the fact that he was a ghost and they were moving into the house he'd lived and died in. There was a lot to unpack there, literally and metaphorically. What if... what if... what if...   
  
Best to ignore that and just focus on getting shit done.   
  
"Want me to load a few more of these into the car, babe?"

“Mmmmnah, let’s wait for Magnus to show up with the truck. Get him some donuts when we’re out for breakfast.”

  
  
Lup leaned into Barry’s arms, her own swirling thoughts calming briefly at his solid presence (and THERE was another pun). They came back as the usual staticky pressure of his arms fizzed uncertainly against hers, unsettled.   
  
“ _Are_ you okay?” The words jumped out before she could bite them back, “you’re fizzing, babe.”   
  
Gently, she pulled up her own power and sent it washing over wherever he was touching her, trying to project _calm_ with it. It was never something she was really good at, that was Merle’s wheelhouse, but she was _trying_.

 

Barry smiled, closing his eyes as the wave of her magic washed over him. Even without him being able to feel the calm she was trying to project, he could feel that sense that was so distinctly _her_ and he relaxed.   
  
"There's uh... there's a lot going on in here." He tapped the side of his head, and then put his hand right back on her hip. "Sorry. Sort of... just thinking about everything."

The sensation of carbonation and ant feet lessened as Barry relaxed and Lup relaxed with him,   
  
“That’s fair, big day.”   
  
One more look around the stripped kitchen and full living room and she shook herself,   
  
“C’mon, neither of us are going to be any use without coffee and food.”

 

  
  
There was a tiny cafe two blocks away, barely enough room for the counter and a display case, but with a nice patio, that served excellent quiches. Lup sipped her latte and glanced down the street, contemplative. It would be a little weird to be a car drive away from anywhere, but the thought of being able to _garden_ again was itching at her. Growing all the stuff she and Taako used in their spells was something that they had rarely been able to do, and it always had better results. And Taako _was_ going to raid her supplies for every fancy dinner he ever put on.   


She flicked a glance at Barry, fondness rippling through her again.   
  
“So when are we getting a goat?”

 

Barry had been watching the people walking down the street while he ate, quietly continuing to marvel at the fact that this, all of this, was really happening and that it wasn't part of some extremely elaborate dream he was having as a lonely ghost. Now he swallowed his mouthful of omelette and started laughing. He made a thoughtful noise, pretending deep consideration. Then he grinned.  
  
"As soon as I've gloated at the old lawn mower and tossed it to the curb. I mean... I threatened it for years. I need to uh... to make sure I take this opportunity to the fullest. That and we should probably like... build a goat house or something. A tiny barn? A goat shed? What do goats even live in? Can we just get the little guy a dog house and call it good?"

 

Lup cackled into her mug, shaking her head, “I think it would have to be, like, a combination cat tree and dog house for a goat to _really_ enjoy it, babe. Hey, what about getting a welding torch for the mower? Make it into modern art or something.”

"You just want a welding torch."   
  
Barry took a long sip of his coffee, trying not to laugh, "I mean, I'm not going to say no, but don't pretend you're just helping me on my lawnmower-based revenge quest when this is really about you getting another means of burning things."

 

Lup pressed her hand to her heart in feigned shock, “ _Babe_ , I am looking out for _both_ of us here. Both of us getting what we want is the _ideal_ .”   
  
She held the pose firmly, determined to outwait him.

 

Barry set his mug down very carefully and then lost the last of his control, snorting with laughter.  
  
"We'll sacrifice the lawnmower to the... the fires of Mount Doom. Build a real nice... nice..." Then he make a choked snrk noise. "We can use it as the frame for a goat water dish! Add insult to injury!"   
  
He leaned back in his seat, putting a hand over his mouth as he tried to stop laughing and pull himself back under control.

 

Lup grinned and then broke into loud whooping laughter as she caught Barry’s mood,   
  
“ _Gods_ , we can stake the motor in the front lawn as a sign against troublemaking mowers....”   
  
She went off into another fit of cackling.

 

"The neighbors are gonna think we're crazy." Then he blinked. "Right, I forgot. Scary ass haunted house on the edge of town. We have no neighbors. Time to live out any and all eccentric recluse fantasies you've got going on, babe."

Lup’s eye lit up and she lifted her hands as if in prayer,   
  
“I can light off _so many fireworks...._ ”

 

Barry grinned and reached to finish his coffee.  
  
"We could get the nice big rockets I used to shoot off in the yard in the 50s." 

 

  
With his breakfast finished, Barry checked the device on his wrist that looked rather watch-like but was actually a part of the new harness Noelle had made for him so he could check the status of it himself. He was perhaps a bit obsessive about the power levels, all things considered, but he claimed it helped him relax to know that everything was fine.   
  
"Maybe wait til spring on the goat thing though. Just so we can uh... so we can make sure we've got a nice warm goat house for the winter. Don't wanna go found out we've got a goat-cicle instead."

Lup snorted, knocking back the last of her latte, and reaching for her wallet,  
  
"That works, since frankly I barely want to _look_ at that yard until the kitchen is wired enough for a real fridge," she pulled out some bills and stood. "Alright, let's grab some donuts for Magnus and get going, babe."

"And a box of donut holes for _us_ later."   
  
He was ticking items off on his fingers as he stood.   
  
"And we still need to pick out paint colors for everything and pick up the paint so we can get that started before we're too unpacked. Kitchen, like you said. Mmmm... the whole... basement... situation. Did we pick up new sheets? I'm gonna be real... shit's sort of hit absolutely blending together at this point and I'm gonna make an actual written list when we get home."   
  
Despite his mildly annoyed tone, he could help but smile at calling the old house _their_ home. Sure, it had always been his home as long as he could remember but that was a world away from being _their_ home together.

Lup blew him a kiss and sauntered back into the cafe,  
  
"Write it on your _phone_ , babe!"

  
  
Barry pulled his phone out, mumbling something about 'forgot it could do that...' and started flipping through looking for the notepad icon she'd shown him. As much as Barry really honestly appreciated the conveniences of modern technology, this thing managed to make him feel like a complete idiot every time he turned it on... or woke it up... or whatever. It didn't help that he had never typed very well so now trying to do it on a tiny little keyboard with just his thumbs was absolutely ridiculous. But he had the start of a list by the time she got back a few minutes later with two huge pink boxes.

 

Lup jangled her keys at him, picking up the conversation again, "Basement is a long term thing; we purified it, but that shit need physical cleaning and _another_ door. Not super cool on the 'only one exit' sitch down there. And we could probably carpet it."   
  
Her phone buzzed as they walked to the car, a paragraph long text full of emojis from Magnus that could be boiled down to 'we're here, where are you?'

"I mean... a.... a whole other door? Trust me, I'm with you on not loving the whole... uh... hmm... actual death trap thing. But..."

 

"Yeah, like to the outside. Don't have to go knocking down a whole wall or anything, just put in a door and another staircase and we're golden."  
Lup popped a donut hole in her mouth as she started to drive, flicking through her Spotify app to turn on Carly Rae Jepson's _"Run Away With Me"_.

Magnus was leaning against his truck in front of their door when they pulled up, smiling goofily at his phone, which he waved at them, "Jules says hi!"

Barry leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes for a moment as they drove. It helped just a little with looking a bit less like he'd barely slept as he stepped out of the car and waved at Magnus. "Hey, Mags. How's she doing?"  
  
He was headed towards the door, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt to get ready to start lifting things.

 

"She's doing _great_ , they found this demon in a house in Maine, and she got to wrestle it until Carey splashed it with holy water!" Lup handed him the box of donuts, and he gasped and grabbed one as he followed Barry into the apartment, "She's bringing me a horn!"

  
  
Lup grinned and went into their bedroom to start stripping the bed and carry things that were for the car rather than the truck,   
"She's bringing _something_ horny, alright."

Barry snorted as he picked up one of the boxes labeled 'kitchen'.   
  
"It's things like that that make me _really_ happy I didn't take their job offer. I definitely... definitely prefer my nice, safe, non-demonic research gig."

 

  
  
It took a bit to get all the boxes loaded in the truck, even with Magnus helping. Especially since Magnus had to step off helping with that to work on taking the furniture apart. While he did that, Barry took a minute to pack up the last of his things into his one bag and chuck it into the car.

Lup was loading the trunk when he did so, frowning as she played Tetris with the hamper and box of bathroom supplies. With a final shove, she got them into a satisfactory place and glanced at Barry,   
  
“I think it’s just the bed, right? And we’re done?”

"Mags is working on that." Barry rolled his eyes. _"Apparently,_ he thinks I don't know how to operate an allen wrench just because I looked at him funny when he said Ikea. What the _fuck_ is an Ikea?"   
  
He double checked the list on his phone quick and then held it out for her to run through. He'd included things that needed to be packed on there as well.

"It's a giant-ass furniture warehouse that's turned into a religion, I'll take you when we need a new lamp or something," Lup took his phone and scrolled through it, nodding absently,  
  
"Oh shit, bugspray," she typed in an addition at the end, "You know, after Magnus got that tick up his....shorts, I'm not really gonna play with that."

 

Barry opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking more than slightly horrified. "Do I want to know what word you just _didn't_ say? There are like... two options? And they're both really bad???"   
  
Magnus strode out then, carrying most of the bed frame. "Tada! One more trip and we're out of here!"

Lup's face was gleaming innocence as she turned to smile at Magnus, " _Dope_ , we'll get the other half then."   
  
She slammed the trunk of her car and headed back inside.

 

Barry followed after Lup, looking back and forth between her and Magnus as he both tried to figure out what she'd meant and tried very hard not to think about it too much. There really were no good options there. It felt odd being in the apartment with no furniture, no _things,_ nothing to hint that anyone lived there. Even the wards were dismantled and Barry found that he could feel their absence. They were going to have to set new wards at home. A little spark of excitement brightened him. Maybe he could learn how to do that or at least help with it.

 

Lup's ears flicked down as she walks through the empty apartment; little echoes of memory of the last few years lurk in the corners, and she felt off balance with the sense that _this_ time she was doing a move _without_ Taako there.   
  
She grabbed the headboard of the bed and glanced at Barry, trying to smile even if her ears telegraphed the lie,   
  
"Moving backwards or forwards, babe?"

"I can do backwards."

  
  
He moved to lift the head board, watching her curiously. Something was very clearly wrong and he wasn't sure what. Was she unhappy? Did she not actually want to move in with him now? Had he done something wrong? He was running through their entire conversation so far that day in his head as they walked. His nerves were so tightly wound that even with the harness on, the head board they were carrying was getting notably lighter as it started to float.

 

Lup was too busy avoiding looking into the empty kitchen to really notice anything until they were stepping out the door and she put too much effort into lifting the headboard, enough to bang it into the doorframe.  
"What the fuck-?"   
  
That's when it occurred to her that she was feeling a soft static against her palms. She tilted her head at Barry, "You gotta _warn_ me if you're practicing like that, babe."

 

His head snapped up and he pulled back, more than a little startled. The magic was still rippling loose in the air but the thin unconscious control on it snapped and the headboard went back to its full weight. Instead, the leaves and debris in the area all shot away from him.  
  
"I... I wasn't?" He looked around and then looked down. "Shit... Sorry. I... I didn't..."   
  
He trailed off, keeping his head down and going quiet as the anxiety in him spiked.

Lup stared at him for a beat before her shoulders started protesting the sudden weight and just STANDING there,  
  
"Hey....Bear, it's okay, you just surprised me. Let's get this in the truck and it'll be fine, okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah..."

  
He kept moving then, helping her boost it up into the truck. Then he stopped, leaning against it and tried a smile. It was weak and he knew it, but still he tried, "Sorry, babe. If I'd known I was doing it, I uh... I would've said something."

Lup draped her arm around Barry's shoulders and pushed a kiss against his temple, "S'cool, no harm done."

  
  
Magnus slammed the trunk shut and turned to them, grinning broadly, "Sooooooo, we done and good to go?"   
  
Lup blew a raspberry, pulled away from Barry and high-fived Magnus, "Hell yeah, lemme just run the keys to the office and we'll be _out_ ."   
  
After locking the front door, she took a half second to stare at the apartment, before shaking herself and jogging towards the main office.   
  
Magnus reached into the cab of his truck and held out the box of slightly melted donuts, "Want one?"

Barry reached for a donut with an appreciative smile.  
  
“Thanks, Magnus.”   
  
His eyes were on Lup as she jogged off, just the tiniest bit of worry creasing his forehead.   
  
“By the way, thanks for uh... for helping out.”

“Nmph prblm,” Magnus swallowed the half he had shoved into his mouth and grinned, “I’m happy for you guys! And I get to hang out with m’buds on a Saturday.”   
  
He stuck the other donut half in his mouth and swung an arm around Barry to give him a squeeze.

Barry took a bite of his donut and then froze, more than a little surprised by the hug. He relaxed quickly though. He was still getting used to the ball of extroverted energy that was Magnus Burnsides.  
  
"I mean... we could always hang out again sometime on a... a not work day." He hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something they could actually do, given what he knew of Magnus' hobbies. "Uh... Maybe... watch... the... game?" He trailed off, leaving exactly what _sport_ he meant vague.

“ _Yeah!_ Ooh ooh, you should _totally_ sit in on one of my DnD games some time, we’ll show you how to roll up a character and _every_ thing-“

"What's DnD?"  


\---

 

Lup stepped out of the office, sniffed, and ducked behind a rhododendron to allow herself _one_ (1) cry. Scrubbing her eyes and breathing hard once she was done, she flicked her ears into a happy position and marched back to the cars.   
  
Time for the first day of the rest of her life and all that bullshit.

 

\---

  
Thankfully, Barry was saved from learning that he'd died five years before the invention of the greatest hobby nerddom had ever been gift by Lup’s arrival. He perked up slightly when he noticed that she looked a lot happier than before. Maybe it was just the stress of moving? Yeah. That was it. Moving-adjacent stress. Nothing he needed to worry about.   


Lup grinned at both of them and held out a hand for the donut box, “We’re all done here, boys; let’s _blow_ this popsicle stand!”   
  
Barry reached for her hand as they started towards the car even though it was only a few feet. He was feeling better, calmer, and he wanted to reassure her that everything was great. He was excited about this move (okay, and a little nervous, but that was basically his default state). He couldn't wait to go paint walls and buy sheets and build the world's biggest cat condo for a goat and all of that domestic shit.   
  
He dropped into the passenger's seat, silently making notes on all the things he still needed to do to get back into Normal Life territory. Like calling Kravitz to make sure his whole _driver's license_ situation had been sorted out. Then he turned towards Lup.   
  
"We're putting your bed in the guest room, right? Since... since mine's already there?"

"YuP! Rearranging furniture can wait for a whoooole other....week."   
Lup pulled out of the complex and started down the familiar way to the outskirts of the city, and only sniffed _once_ the whole drive.

  
  
Maybe twice.   
  
And she had something in her eyes. Time to roll down the windows and blast Carly Rae until no one noticed.


	2. Chapter 2

Barry was quiet for the ride, staring out the window and almost leaning against the car door. He had a lot to think about, a lot of things on his mind. It had been fifty years since anything had really changed for him and now changes were coming hard and fast. He had been excited to go home, but now that worry was swirling inside him. Repairs and everything were great, so was adding another door to the basement, but how much was she going to want to change? Would it still be the house he knew when they were done? At the same time though, he was afraid to say something. He didn't want to push and end up pushing her away.  
  
So when they pulled up in the driveway, he couldn't wait to get out of the car and do something just so his mind could stop spinning for five minutes.

Lup pulled up to her usual parking spot and took a deep breath, looking at the house with a new perspective.   
  
It was already showing differences from the near ruin she’d shown up at some three months before; the door wasn’t crooked, nothing looked ready to fall down, and the path was trimmed down flat from constant wear.   
  
It didn’t look _lonely_ anymore. She glanced over at Barry and grinned,   
  
“Ready to do this, babe?”

The house looked so different already, strange and foreign to him. But that may just be that he hadn't seen the outside much since... He hesitated for a moment and then reached into the backseat for his bag, slinging it onto his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, let's go, babe. I can uh... I can toss this inside and get started on the boxes, okay? Want me to... leave the kitchen stuff for last since its like..." He gestured vaguely. "Kind of a mess?"

“Sounds good,” Lup drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as Magnus pulled up, “I’ll shove stuff upstairs- _don’t_ let him try to bring the mattress up by _himself_ , kay?”

Barry chuckled quietly, getting out of the car.  
  
“Won’t lie, I’m half tempted to just... to just tell him to carry things inside and then take my harness off and float shit where it goes. But that feels like cheating.”   
  
He went to set the bag on the porch and then went over to go help Magnus with the boxes.

“It’s _your_ house, no one can tell you what’s cheating or not,” Lup popped the trunk and promptly started playing the game of ‘how many bags can I hold to make as few trips as possible?’   
  
It was a good and efficient morning, all things considered. Between the three of them, plus a few shoves of magic when muscle wouldn’t do, the mess of boxes was _organized_ if not all the way unpacked.   
  
Lup and Magnus played rock, paper, scissors for getting the pizza, and Lup “lost” (Magnus had a tell) and left, while instructing him to at least let Barry _hold_ stuff while assembling the bed For Fuck’s Sake.

Barry was chatting with Magnus about game night now, eager to learn more (and to keep something occupying his mind). Once they had the last of the furniture assembled and in place, Barry went to go work on some general cleaning in the rooms that had furniture but had just lain unused.   
  
His ( _their_ ) room was dusty even now and he opened the windows to air it out while he stripped the old sheets off the bed and bundled them up to wash.

Lup found him in there, and leaned against the doorway to watch him for a few moments before he noticed her;  
  
He still had the tenseness of the whole day but there was a _rightness_ to being in this house that she suspected would never quite go away. Side effects of being tied to it in undeath, probably.   
  
Still, the afternoon light caught at his curls as he turned around and she grinned softly at him. Gods, she was so _Gone_...   
  
“Pizza’s here, feeling hungry yet?”

Barry wrapped up the bundle of sheets and tossed it into the brand new hamper sitting on the floor. Then he smiled and closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her gently. When he responded, his tone was teasing.  
  
"Absolutely _dying_ of starvation, babe." Then he kissed her again just as lightly. "Seriously though, I am pretty hungry. And we need to do some laundry which uh..."   
  
He exhaled slowly and then tried to keep his tone light, "I'm gonna level with you, I don't think I'm emotionally capable of uh... of going down in the basement by myself. At least... at least not yet."

Lup kissed him again and dropped to his neck to blow a raspberry, affectionately,   
“I’m feeling _that_ . Plus, I kinda want to check the water here isn’t so hard it’ll ruin some of my nice stuff. Laundromat run tomorrow?”   
  
As she tugged him to the stair landing, she continued thoughtfully, “I’m thinking we start there by scrubbing the _shit_ out of the windows first.... probably anchor a bunch of house wards in there too.”

"Yeah, yeah. Definitely that and uh... and checking the lights to make sure they're all good."  
  
He let her tug him along, looking around thoughtfully. There was so much to do. Then he focused on her hand in his and the reassuring knowledge that this was their future, on the way her smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, at the way her ears flicked up when she was excited. It was so easy for him to get lost in her. He squeezed her hand as they got down to the first floor and (slightly guiltily) wondered just how long Magnus was planning on hanging out today.

Magnus was already on his third slice of pizza when they went into the kitchen, texting enthusiastically with Julia,   
  
“Hey Barry, how long have you had this table?”   
  
Lup grabbed her own plate and sank into a chair with a groan, her shoulders protesting the morning’s work.

Barry stared at Magnus for a long moment and then rubbed the back of his neck.   
  
"Since I was a kid... I think... I _think_ my parents had it when I was born so... since the 20s, probably?"   
He grabbed a slice of pizza and dropped into his own seat, "There's nothing wrong with it, right?"   
  
He sounded a little worried, distant memories of playing with tin soldiers in his 'fort' under the table while his mother cooked dinner or did the dishes flitting through his mind.

“Nah, dude, this thing is _gorgeous_ , “ Magnus took a bite and kept talking with his mouth full,   
  
“The varnish is pretty old though, might wanna have it refinished and polished up, it’ll look amazing after.”   
  
Lup eyed him, “are you volunteering?”   
  
“Maaaaaaaaaybe-“ Magnus swallowed and grinned at her, “Taako was saying how he wants to start that cooking YouTube thing, and I was thinking how I could do that but for like, you know, wood stuff.”

Barry watched Magnus for a long moment and then sighed.   
  
"YouTube is the one that's like Netflix but just random people, right?"   
  
His tone was just a bit irritated, mostly with himself. He hated being behind, hated not knowing things. He'd lived his entire life being ahead of the curve and now he was stuck in a game of catch-up.

Magnus beamed at him, “That’s _right!_ More commercials now too, _ugh_.”

"It would be really nice refinished and all that." Barry smiled as he ran a hand over the surface of the table, lost in thought for a moment. "I wonder if I've got pictures... I remember Mom had an old Kodak when I was a kid..."

Magnus rubbed a finger along the grain and nodded, “Yeah, if you could, that’d be _great._ once you guys are all moved in and whatever.”   
  
As he got up to wash out of the water filter Lup had set up, she caught Barry’s eye briefly and stretched back in her chair, tank top sliding up to show her stomach,   
  
“Woof... that’s hitting me hard.... think I’m gonna call it a productive morning and take a fuckin’ _nap_.”

Barry grinned as Lup shifted and then he tried to hide it, stretching.  
  
"Yeah, it's been a _morning._ If I find that uh... that picture, I'll let you know Mags, and definitely call me about DnD but I'm seconding that _nap_ plan right about now."   
  
He stood, pushed his chair in, and then pulled down a large bowl for the food scraps.   
  
"Compost." He muttered, setting the bowl on the counter. "I'll set something up in the yard... later."

“You guys sure you don’t want me to unload anything else?”   
  
Lup grinned over at him fondly, “Nah my dude, you’ve been _awesome_ , we’ll see you Tuesday at work, aight?”   
  
Magnus raised a hand for a high five and then scooped them both up for a hug, “I’m so _happy_ for you guys!”   
  
Putting them down he headed for the door.

The moment Barry heard the door to Magnus' truck slam closed and the engine turning over, he turned towards Lup with a grin.  
  
"Do uh... do you think he's got a clue what just happened or... ?"   
  
“Absolutely, and if he had stayed longer to tease us, I would have kicked him out in so many words.”

"You know, I almost wish I could've seen that..."

“You probably will eventually,” Lup grinned as she hopped up and grabbed his hand, pulling him upstairs.

As they walked into the bedroom, Barry went to go dig through the boxes and bags in the corner,  
"Do you know where the clean sheets ended up? I figure we should at least make the bed first."

Lup dug through another bag and brought up a plastic case, “Hah! Knew I was being _organized._ ”   
  
These were not the sheets from that morning, intentionally bought and chosen for this house in mind.

Barry raised an eyebrow, leaning around to see what was in the case in her hands. "What's that?"  
  
Lup looked at him, slightly guiltily, “Okay, I’m _not_ going to say don’t laugh, but-“   
  
The sheets were clearly Halloween clearance, a jaunty rick-rack pattern in orange, black, and white-   
  
And the pillowcases were patterned in happy little ghosts with ‘Boo!’ speech bubbles.

He opened and closed his mouth and few times, trying to decide exactly how he felt about this. On one hand, clearly intended to be funny. On the other hand... mmmm. But he decided to just assume the best. He kissed her cheek.  
  
“You’re adorable, you know that?”

She leaned her forehead against his briefly,   
  
“It was funnier when I wasn’t imagining having sex against the pillows, I’ll be honest. I’ll, um, keep the old ones on....”

"No, no, it's fine." He took one of the pillow cases, looking at the little ghosts like they were judging him. "Anyway, I already stripped the bed."

Ears pink and flicked back in embarrassment, Lup helped him pull the sheet on, and pointedly threw her pillows on top in their normal cases. The contrast between the rick-rack and her pastel floral patterns was.... extreme, but she couldn’t find it in her to care too much and just flopped across the bed with a sigh.

Barry looked at the pile of pillows, her several on top of his two that were left from before, and chuckled.   
  
"We don't have a bed, we're halfway to a nest." Then he settled onto the bed beside her, putting an arm around her waist. "Not that I object to nesting. Definitely like the idea, actually. Just making an observation."

Lup turned and shoved her face into his shoulder, curling tight,   
  
“That’s the ideal, babe....”   
  
She let the silence sit for a few minutes before blurting, “I’m sorry, that was _dumb_ and I shoulda.... shoulda taken two seconds to think first....”

Barry kissed her forehead gentle and rubbed her back with one hand, "It's okay, babe. You just sorta... startled me a little, I guess? They're cute and I... I get what you were thinking. I just..." He sighed a little and held her tight, "I'm just being... over-sensitive. It's not like you meant anything by it and they're just... cartoons. It shouldn't bother me."

“ _Babe_ ,” she reached up to flick his ear, “Let me apologize for being an insensitive dumbass.”

"But you're not... not that." He smiled a little. "You were trying to be funny and I totally get that. It's cute. Just uh... fell a little flat. That's all."

Lup made an aggrieved grumble, “The ‘I was just kidding’ defense doesn’t fly in this household, Bluejeans.” She turned her face up to him and pressed a kiss to his jaw, “you’re allowed to not like things I do _out_ side sex too, you know....”

"Yeah, but I don't have to be _mad_ about it. It's not like you went all... all 'fuck how you feel, we're using the spooky pillowcases because I said so'." He shrugged a little and slid a hand up her back. "So, everything's fine, and we can get back to what we were doing."

Lup wriggled against him, trailing more kisses along his jaw, “ _You_ \- are _too_ fucking good- ....and I love you.”

Barry laughed a little and tucked one hand under her chin, tilting her face up so he could kiss her properly, long and sweet. “Love you too, Lup.”

She sighed into the kiss, the tension of the morning easing some out of her shoulders, and she ran her nails up the back of Barry’s neck before opening her mouth and deepening the kiss.   
  
He was _so good_ and she _loved_ him and they were here _together_ because he wanted her to be there. And she had to be worthy of it.

Barry’s hands settled on her hips and he pulled her as close as they could get. She felt so right in his arms, so good, like this was how they belonged, together. He kissed his way down her neck, murmuring with his lips against her skin.  
  
“You’re so beautiful. Beautiful and kind and you care so much. How could I do anything but love you?”

Lup gasped and tilted her head, Barry’s mouth never got much more than lukewarm and that was _after_ a warm up session; the feeling of his cold lips raised goosebumps on her skin and she shivered, delightedly.

“Welp, I’m convinced, you can- _ah!_ defin- definitely keep on lovin’ me if you do it like _that-!_ ”

He grinned at the hitch in her voice, reveling in the fact that he could cause that response in her. Then he tugged at her shirt, wanting it off but not wanting to stop straying kisses over her skin.

Lup whined at having to _make a decision_ , but pulled away from him long enough to tug it off, _very_ glad she’d said ‘fuck it’ to wearing a bra today,

“Come on, fair’s fair,” she ran her hands up Barry’s chest, grinning and slipping her fingers under the straps of his harness, “this is an equal opportunity household.”

Barry chuckled and toyed with the idea of messing with her for just a moment. He’d learned a thing or two in the past three months about what he could and couldn’t do with this harness and he was in the kind of fluctuating mood where this seemed like a hilarious idea.   
  
“Oh yeah?”   
  
And then he focused just slightly on the buckles with his fledgeling powers and the popped open, the harness falling to the bed as he went incorporeal.   
  
_”There you go, babe. It’s off.”_

Lup yelped as she toppled forward on the bed, feeling like she was plunged into ice water, “ _FUCK!_ You _ass!_ ”   
  
Sitting up.... _through_ Barry felt like a carbonated ice bath and she shuddered as she scooted away, pouting, “You know perfectly well what cold does to a boner, _Barry_ .”   
Despite her tone, Lup’s ears were at an amused tilt.

Barry laughed, the sound echoing around the room.   
  
_"Sorry, babe. But you have to admit, it was funny."_   
  
Taking a moment to tug his shirt off over his head, he reached for the harness and cursed as he passed through it twice before he got a solid grip on it. Carefully, he settled the harness back on before he chucked the once again solid shirt across the room. He reached for her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist.   
  
"Bet I can make it better." His tone was thick with teasing. "Also, I thought you were getting to like the cold."

“Hilarious, you’re a comedic genius,” Lup watched him, hungrily, and shivered as his lips had lost _any_ regained heat after that trick. Following her hand, she crawled into his lap and tapped his nose, “I’d rather have cold and _solid_ , Barry.”

"Alright, alright. I'll stay a solid boy, just for you."  
  
He kissed her lightly and wrapped his arms around her waist, contemplating just how much he was feeling like trying to push his boundaries today. He'd been doing a lot better with most things, and he'd been entertaining a rather particular fantasy. One that he would be very frustrated if he found out it had been ruined for him by being murdered.   
  
"Feeling at all adventurous, babe?"

Lup huffed, trying to stay casual while her ears flicked high with interest and her pupils blew out until her eyes were dark,   
  
“Whaaaat were you thinking, Bear?”

He traced light swirling patterns on her skin with one finger as he watched her face.  
  
"Maybe... uh..." He paused, a little bit of a blush on his cheeks. "So I know this probably doesn't sound _super_ adventurous like... on the surface of things, but hear me out and like..." He paused again, trying to make his words line up in an orderly and logical fashion. "Maaaybe I'd really like to try having you uh... to have you ride my cock? On top?"   
  
It was a big step, all things considered, but it was absolutely something he thought he was ready to try.

Lup’s face softened and her mouth formed a small ‘o’, even as her clit very _clearly_ twitched against Barry’s stomach under her shorts,   
“Uhm, no yeah, I’d be down, if-“ she cupped his face in her hands, concern desperately warring with a growing hunger, “-you really sure, babe?”

"Tentatively? Like... oh boy do I want to. Do I know if I'm gonna be okay? No idea. Do I wanna try anyway? Fuck yes."  
  
He smiled, running his fingers down her stomach to the band of her shorts, "Just gotta go slow, right?"

A whine cut itself off at the back of Lup’s throat as she pulled Barry forward to lick into his mouth in a heated kiss.   
“Yeah.... yeah yeah yeah, we can- we can work with that-“   
  
Her hands were trembling a little as she pulled away and glanced over the bed and nest of pillows,   
“Maybe, um, maybe half seated? Instead of, of flat on your back,”

He returned the kiss, almost moaning into her mouth., "Yeah, definitely like that idea. Can uh... can wedge the pillows up and..."  
  
Lup pulled away, briefly; the need to jump up and dig through her boxes for the lube and condoms was fighting against the need to stay in Barry’s lap and kiss him until they were both gasping, and she bit her lip as her eye flicked from him to the boxes and back. Barry was already reaching out to pull her back but caught her gaze and grinned.   
  
"I think I still need to see them to make them all floaty, babe, so one of us is gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way." He kissed her lightly and grinned. "Sorry, still no magic grabby hands unless we leave things out in plain sight."

“Or we put them in easily opened drawers later,” Lup turned back and caught Barry in a full kiss, trying to communicate through touch all the ways she felt about his trust that she couldn’t quite manage in words. Leaning to nip along his jaw and catch his earlobe in a sharp bite that she promptly soothed with her tongue, Lup whined and pulled back,   
  
“Okay, _okay_ , pants off, I’ll find the stuff, you get the pillows, and _then-_ ”   
  
She reached down to cup against him, humming thoughtfully, “.....warm you up more....”

Barry's head went back and he closed his eyes, giving her more access to his neck as he whimpered. He very much hoped she left marks all over him. Let there be absolutely no question that he was hers entirely and completely. He started nodding when she pulled back.  
  
"Fuck yeah, pants are the enemy."   
  
He was already reaching to undo his jeans when her hand was on him again and he stopped, just staring at her with a little grin on his face for a moment. As soon as she moved, he kicked his jeans and boxers off (a much nicer _modern_ pair with very happy sushi rolls all over them), and then started adjusting the pillow so there was absolutely no way he would end up flat on his back no matter what happened.

Lup rolled off the bed and scrambled to find the box she had _marked_ specifically that it was _that_ box, knowing they would want it. And her past self had done her a favor in that direction, but her slightly less in the past self had dropped it at the back of the pile and she had to move other things to get at it.   
  
When she returned, still flushed, and breathing from frustrated exertion, she grinned at the pile Barry had set up,   
  
“Soooo, maybe adding to the pillow pile, getting a couple odd shapes in there wouldn’t be a bad goal....?”

Barry was lounging against the pillows, watching her with a smile on his face and one hand behind his head. Her question got a raised an eyebrow, "Got something specific in mind, babe? Like... trying to achieve a particular position? Because I'm very open to suggestions."

Lup took a moment to look him up and down, running her tongue over her teeth, ears flared out,   
  
“Hmm? Oh, uhhh, like wedge shapes and stuff.”   
  
She crawled on the bed, dropping the bottle and condom packet within reach, “things can help with, mmmmm hands and knees positions and support your back....”   
  
Crawling into his lap, she reached down to cup him, running her clit across his belly.

"Sounds like a really- mmm a really really good idea. Definitely want- definitely want that…” He rested his head against her shoulder for a moment and then turned to kiss her neck.  
  
"Gods, you're amazing, Lup." He ghosted his hands up her stomach and cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples with calloused thumbs. "So fucking sexy. Sometimes I can't believe all this is real."

Lup settled herself, hand running up and down his cock, trying to get it to even a lukewarm temperature, “S’a couple details of the last few months makes me preeetty sure it’s not some fantasy....” she arched into his touch, nipples going hard at the cold,   
  
“ _Fuck_ , that’s-“ pushing forward into his hands, she buried her face into his neck and panted, “ _Shit-_ ”

Barry chuckled quietly at that reaction and pushed her back gently so he could swirl his tongue around one nipple.  
  
"If you didn't have a temperature kink before, you definitely do now, babe."

“In _self_ de _fence_ , _ah-_ ” Lup whined and combed a hand through his hair slowly to tilt Barry’s head back into a kiss, other hand working steadily.   
  
As she nipped and sucked her way down his neck, pressing her tongue against his pulse, she grumbled, “I know a lot of this harness is basically ‘sciencemagic’ but _how_ the _hell_ -“ she bit a dark bruise into Barry’s shoulder, “are you hard _and still this cold?_ ”

"Fuck if I know," he mumbled. "Maybe I should shower first next time. Or just not go ghost on you."

“Deffo that second one for sure.....” his cock was finally nearing the temperature of her hand, and she sighed happily,   
  
“-unless we’re doing some _real_ adventurous shit-“   
  
She loosened her grip as Barry rolled his hips against her, experimenting to see how much leverage he had in this position mostly, letting him slide through her hand

He shivered with pleasure and then gave her a goofy smile, "Babe, are you implying you wanna try like... actual ghost fucking? Is that-mmm... Is that even possible?"

" _Listen_ if we write it down, it's for _science_ -"she glanced down at herself, then her hand, “Hmm.... babe? Can you work on my ears real quick?   
  
Obediently, he raised his hands to her ears,"I would _love_ to."   
As Barry kissed the side of her neck, running his fingers along the length of her sensitive ears, he focused on nipping lightly just below the curve of her jaw and then kissing the spots he’d left.   
  
"Won't lie, kind of really want to leave marks today." His voice was low and husky, more so than usual. "Love leaving little reminders for you."

Lup shuddered against his mouth, breath coming quicker, "-fuckin _go_ for it, Bear, all yours and don't care who knows it, _shit-_ "she whined softly, his caresses going straight to her belly, stoking the flames there. As she leaned into his mouth, she opened her thumb, hooking her clit to pulls against Barry’s cock, moving them together.

"Don't have to tell me twice."   
  
He murmured it, his lips barely leaving her skin. He was single-minded, desperate to worship her as she rightly deserved, to show her how much he loved her. He wanted everyone to know. He nipped a spot just below her ear and sucked at it, determined to leave a very nice bruise right there where everyone would be able to see it and would know _exactly_ what it was.   
  
"Did you grab gloves, babe?"

Lup keened breathily, rocking against her hand, Barry’s mouth, Barry’s hand on her ear, the staticky flow of his barely contained magic over her skin making her own power flare in response-   
  
Her hand _really_ started to warm then, and she cursed, dropping them both and pulling away with a whine,   
  
“Y-yea, yes I did, over there, _fuck_ \- got.... got a little too close, Bear....”   
  
She bent away from him, reaching for the supplies she had dropped further down the bed, but unwilling to touch him any less than she had to.

Barry was startled by the suddenly flare of heat and but grinned at her words. He pulled her back in for a kiss, reaching one hand beyond her. He could just barely see the box of gloves and gave it a solid flick with his magic. It was quite a bit more force than he’d meant to and it slammed into the wall behind him.  
  
“Shit...”

 _That_ got a not at all breathy laugh out of Lup, “Too worked up for fiddly work, Bear?”   
Grinning, she kissed his neck and unwillingly got up to fetch the box, her legs cramping slightly after staying in one position too long. One side of the cardboard box was dented pretty badly from the impact with the wall, but nothing that could hurt the contents.   
  
"Apparently, yeah. Guess I'm gonna have to practice magic while distracted."   
  
He stretched and then moved to grab the lube and condom, making sure they were close to hand this time. Then he settled back against the pillows, his eyes on her and his hand loosely around his erection. Lup reseated herself in his lap, kissing him as she pulled gloves out,

“You wanna prep me or should I?”  
  
"Fuck, babe, you can't just like... drop a choice like that on me. Both? Is both an option?"

Lup tilted a hand back and forth, considering, “After the first finger, sure....”  
  
Leaning forward, she kissed his neck again, reveling in the speed of his pulse and the taste of sweat, “Tell you what, I’ll start. Because frankly, babe? If you tease me here I might actually come _way_ too soon.”

His eyes widened. He hadn't actually been expecting a yes on that, he'd mostly been joking. He fumbled, grabbing the bottle of lube from where he'd set it and held it out to her. His hand was shaking slightly and his pupils were blown wide with excitement. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist and returned the kiss, rocking his hips against her.   
  
"Lup, babe, gonna be real honest here. Not sure how long _I'm_ gonna last. This is... all of this... real good, fucking amazing. _Fuck,_ I can't wait to... to watch you finger yourself. Love watching your face."   
  
He was babbling a little, eagerness causing his usual filters to drop away.

Taking the bottle, Lup leaned in to kiss the side of his mouth fondly,   
  
“We’re warming up to it, s’fine if I don’t ride you into oblivion _this_ time,”   
She winked broadly and coated her fingers, leaning over him to reach behind her,   
  
“Give me a color?”

He was keeping his eyes open, watching her. He’d found that as long as he wasn’t too surprised, as long as he kept reminding himself that this was Lup, that he was safe with her, he was alright. He exhaled slowly, trying to gauge his own feelings.  
  
“Is uh... is there a color between green and yellow? Mostly good. Definitely mostly good.”

Lup tilted away slightly from him, gauging his face, “More green-yellow now? If touching me helps, feel _free_ , babe.”   
  
She traced circles around her own entrance, knowing he wanted to see her face and hoping _hoping_ it would help-

A little tension he hadn't even realized was showing on his face faded. He cupped her cheek in one hand and pushed himself up to kiss her.  
  
"Definitely better." Another soft kiss and he reached down to stroke her clit. "Very green. Green across the board."

Lup sighed into his mouth, breath hitching at his touch, and pushed her fingertip in. The combined sensation was _electric_ and she had to pull back to pant into Barry’s shoulder,   
  
“C-careful how long you keep that, that hand there, babe...” Whining, she scissored a second finger in, relishing the burn.

He chuckled quietly. “Sorry, babe.” He didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. But he did move his hand, trailing gentle touches up her sides.   
  
“You make the prettiest damn sounds, you know that? S’intoxicating.”

“Flatterer,” Lup arched her back more for a better angle, breath coming in pants, “If, _ah_ , If you’re joining in- .... _now_ is good, _hah-_ ”

Barry reached blindly for the condom packet, kissing her neck.   
  
"Just a second, babe. Gotta..."   
  
That dealt with, he met her eyes, double checking that he had, in fact, interpreted her words correctly., "Ready?"

“Uh-huh,” Lup pulled her hand out, yanking the glove off and tossing it towards an empty plastic bag, and leaning forward,  
  
“ Color?”

“Very, very green.”  
  
He shifted, trying to position them both better. One hand settled on her hip and he used the other to guide himself into her. He bit his lower lip for half a second and then kissed her hard.

Lup eased herself back onto him, moaning into Barry’s mouth as she let her body adjust,   
  
“Fuck, that’s good....” pulling back just enough to see his face, Lup searched his eyes for any sign of going blank and panicked before raising herself up again.

"Mmm..." He made a soft sound of agreement, his hands hard on her hips. "Feels real good."  
  
He let her take control, for now at least. Let her set the pace. But, gods, she felt so good around him.

Lup’s hands fluttered for a moment of indecision before setting one on his shoulder, the other one on his hand, glancing at him for confirmation before moving again.   
  
She actually _tried_ to set a slow pace, nights of Barry winding her up until she fell apart at the forefront of her mind; but both of them were too far gone, and she rocked faster, breath catching in her throat.

Barry’s head went back and he moaned with pleasure. He didn’t have a lot of leverage in this position, not a lot of room to move, but he did his absolute best to meet the pace she was setting, going hard and fast. He was getting closer and closer to that edge, threatening to tumble over it. But he didn’t want to yet. Not first, never first. He reached to stroke her clit, inarticulate murmurs of praise for her on his lips.

Lup gasped high and sharp, when Barry touched her, rutting up into his hand  and falling back on his cock, whining.   
  
“Babe- babe, _babeBABE-_ ”  
  
Once more, and she buried her face in Barry’s shoulder, shuddering as she came, clenching hard around him. Barry's hips snapped up and he pulled her close, his pulse almost all the way to that of a normal, living person.   
  
"Lup, fuck, _fuck,"_   
He cried out, scrambling for something to hold onto. He left long, red scratches across her back where his fingernails dug into her skin. Then he leaned against her, breathing hard.

The sound of both their ragged breathing echoes back at them from the empty walls, until Lup pushed up and leaned back, chuckling weakly,   
  
“Holy _shit_ ....”   
  
Her thighs were cramping in protest and there was come all over both of them and it was the _best_ she had felt all week.   
  
She grinned and held up a hand for a high five.

Barry lay back in the pillows, a lazy grin on his face. Then he laughed and returned the high five, “Can’t leave you hanging. That’s like the first rule.”  
  
He was surprised how _sore_ he was in places, given how it didn’t seem like he was doing all that much work. He leaned in to kiss wherever he could and then gave her a tender smile.   
  
“Cuddle time?”

“Clean up _then_ cuddle time, guess there’s a use for those pillowcases after all.”   
Lup winced as she leaned forward and straightened out her legs one at a time, “Think you can spooky air lift them now?”

“Sure, sure, definitely.”   
  
Barry sat up again so he could see the offending pillow cases and focused on them, holding his hand out even though Taako kept telling him he didn’t need to do that. They floated gently across the room and he caught them, holding them out to her with a smug grin.   
  
“Got it.”

Lup kissed him as she took the pillowcases and cleaned them both off, bouncing off the bed to toss them in the plastic bag with the rest of their trash,   
  
“I dunno about you, but I’m about ready to sleep until we’re hungry enough to finish off the pizza.”

“Sounds perfect, babe.”   
  
Barry yawned, covering his mouth belatedly, “I’m still wiped from last night. And a nice post-sex cuddle-nap with you sounds like... like just the right way to fix that.”

“Mmmmmhm,” Lup crawled onto the bed, shoving the pillows out of a support configuration and into a nesting one, and flopping down,   
  
“We have _earned_ this,” she reached out and made grabbing motions for him.

Barry chuckled quietly and followed her down, wrapping an arm around her as he settled. He kissed her shoulder as he snuggled against her and closed his eyes.  
  
"Love you."

“S’MY line,” Lup grumbled and curled into him, “best boyfriend, A plus, would fight demons for again,” She yawned as a stuttering purr started up in her throat.

Barry snorted a quiet laugh. "Fuck, I hope you don't have to. I don't think there's any more demons in the house. If there are, they better be paying rent this time."  
But he was too exhausted to keep joking and nuzzled against her, humming quietly in answer to her purr until he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning for some yelling and other examples of bad conflict resolving.

Over the next few days, they started unpacking and picked out colors of paint, but before they could really get to work on that, they needed to start stripping the wallpaper off the walls. Especially the stuff in the living room that had been peeling since not all that long after Barry had died. It was green floral patterns, pastel and calming, and he spent a lot of quiet moments staring at that wallpaper trying to imagine seeing something else. Even if it was peeling and faded, even if it was sort of ugly, even if it was covered in graffiti from decades of college kids breaking in on a bet. It was what his mother had put up when he was in high school and it felt odd to think of the house without it. Still, he held the scraper in one hand and looked at the wall, steeling himself for what he knew had to be done.

 

Lup stood next to Barry, waiting for him to make the first move, even as she eyed the wallpaper with a grim determination.    
  
She  _ despised _ wallpaper. The very  _ idea _ of it was anathema to her soul. Decades of shitty tenements and slum apartments had served to push her disgust into a vehement loathing; wallpaper was cheap, wallpaper covered mold and drafts and holes left by rats and previous tenants. Wallpaper NEVER faded well, and she had never seen wallpaper that wasn’t faded.    
  
Paint peeled, but it was  _ honest _ about it. Or whitewash if you couldn’t afford paint, back when THAT was a thing.    
  
She glanced at Barry, “you ready to get started? I have a whole playlist for this one.”

 

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his eyes on a set of pencil marks on the nearest door frame, the one that went into the kitchen. Then he turned back towards the wallpaper.   
  
"Yeah... yeah, let's do this."   
  
He put the scraper under the edge of the paper and pushed it up, watching it separate from the wall. It was in tatters. It wasn't even the same color anymore. This particular section was covered in red spray paint. He could do this. They were going to paint the living room and wash the windows and it was going to be nice and bright and theirs and...   
  
And he could remember coming home after school and helping put this paper up in the first place. It had been cheap, sure, but it had been  _ something. _ And they hadn't had a lot of things back then.

Lup followed him with  _ much _ more enthusiasm. She wanted to see the wall  _ under _ , see what they were working with. Stop seeing the really badly spelled graffiti.    
  
“Siri, play ‘home improvement mix’.”    
  
The tiny speaker on the floor next to them pinged and the bouncy strains of Cyndi Lauper started playing.

 

Barry couldn't help but smile as the music started. He didn't know the song but he did like it a lot. He was humming along as he stripped the paper back, revealing the wall behind. It took him a while to get his section of the wall even half done with how much he kept stopping as he remembered other moments from his childhood. After a long while, he stopped and set his scraper down.   
  
"I'm gonna... go grab some lemonade. Want some, babe?"   
  
There was a hint of something in his voice beside the desperate need for a break.

“Sure thing, babe!” Lup interrupted her rendition of Sisters of Avalon to smile at him and went back to peeling a long strip off the wall and tossing it into the pile.

He nodded a little and then turned towards the kitchen to go grab the pitcher out of the fridge. He set the glasses and pitcher down on the counter and stop for a moment, leaning against the counter heavily for a long moment. He took a few breaths, trying to calm himself back down. This wasn't bad. Change was okay. Change was good. They were making this house their home. They were repairing the damage, cleaning it up and making it livable again. And so much of it was changing. He closed his eyes, taking another breath and letting it out slowly.    
  


It was a few minutes before he reappeared with lemonade in hand and held one out to Lup.   
  
"Here you go."

She leaned her scraper against the wall and took the glass, hugging him with her free hand,    
  
“Gods, it already looks  _ way _ better.”

 

Barry's glass dropped from his hand, shattering on the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, trying not to explode, trying not to give in to any of the emotions coursing through him. He didn't want to lash out at her. Losing his temper was the last thing he wanted to do.

Lup jumped away from him, yelping, “What?! What?”    
  
She blinked down at the shattered glass and spilled lemonade, mind flicking back in slow motion, not sure if this was a new trigger or one she had forgotten.

"Fuck...  _ Fuck." _   
  
He took a breath and let it out again, trying to do the counting thing Merle had taught him. Count down from ten. Keep your emotions under control. Don't launch things across the house. And then... communicate.   
  
But the words wouldn't come. She was so excited about this. So was he, really. It was just a lot. He took another breath, eyes still closed, and bowed his head.   
  
"Sorry... I just... sorry."

“What-“  _ did I do? _ “-what was it?”    
She moved uncertainly towards him, not sure if it was one where he needed contact or not.

 

Barry took another deep breath, trying to make the words line up. He knew perfectly well why he was upset, he just couldn't figure out how to say it without making it sound like he didn't want this, like he didn't want this to be theirs.    
  
"Just... just memories. Having sort of a... a rough time with all of... this."   
  
There. Close enough. He looked down at the glass on the floor and held his hand towards it, hoping he had the control to pull it back together. For a moment, the shards of glass started to come together. Then they flew out, away from him instead, one just barely missing Lup.

 

Lup yelped again, ears pinned flat as she stumbled away from the flying shards, “ _ Bear! _ seriously though, what the fuck?”    
  
She clenched her fists to stop them heating in response to a Threat and breathed deeply herself.    
  
“ _ Which _ memories?”

He took a shaky step back, moving away from her without even realizing he was doing it.   
  
"I-I was trying to fix it! I'm... I didn't mean to..."   
  
He couldn't make his thoughts line up now. They were running around in screaming circles, chasing each other, and no matter how many times he tried to remind himself that this was  _ Lup _ and she wouldn't... she wouldn't...    
  
"Not... not bad stuff." He forced the words out, looking away. "Not bad memories. Older... older stuff."

Lup blinked, hands falling limply at her sides, desperately trying to  _ think _ before she did anything.    
  
Okay. Okay, stuff before his death, not bad, just-    
  
"Like- childhood stuff?"   
  
That wouldn't have been THAT much earlier, right? He hadn't even been fifty when he died....

 

"Y-yeah."    
  
He still wasn't looking at her. He was just staring at the glass on the floor, at the puddle of lemonade, at the discarded pile of wallpaper. Everywhere but at her.   
  
"Just... It's just sort of a lot. Seeing... seeing things really change?"

 

It took a moment as Lup looked around at the stripped walls, the faded spots on the leftover wallpaper where they had taken picture frames down, the last vestiges of the house being lived in  _ before _ being haunted...   
  
"....Didn't you get  _ tired _ of it?"

 

His gaze snapped back up to her face and for a long moment, he just stood there, staring at her. He looked hurt and then... and then upset.    
  
"Fuck, no, no I don't."    
  
He didn't yell... exactly. More snapped the words, lashing out.   
  
"It's my  _ home. _ It's... it's  _ right _ and... and... I helped my mom put this up back... back before the war and..." Then he did yell. "Dammit, Lup,  _ some people _ care about that kind of thing."

 

Lup's ears were so flat she could feel the start of a headache coming on, and her hands clenched into fists again just in time to snuff out a tongue of flame,   
  
"I care about  _ people _ not...not godsdamn  _ things! _ What's the  _ point _ of keeping it the same it's just going to make you upset all the fucking time?"

Half a dozen shouted responses died on his lips at the sight of that flame. Did she think he didn't care about people? It wasn't the  _ fucking _ things he cared about, it was the memories and the people tied to them. But the words had scattered to the winds. He took another stumbling step backwards, eyes wide. He wasn't even trying to do magic, not consciously, not really. He just needed to get away, to not be here. But the straps on his harness popped open and there was a thud as it hit the floor and he vanished.

 

Lup recoiled, the air going completely out of her lungs. Opening her mouth to call him back, all she can manage is a choked noise as she slowly sank to the floor.    
  
Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckshe  _ fucked _ it up.  **FUCK** .    
  
Barry did not come back immediately. Or after Lup managed to get her breathing started again. Or after she managed to close her eyes and soothe her magic back into compliance like she  _ should _ have taken the time to do before  _ yelling _ at her  _ traumatized boyfriend _ about his-   
  
Home.    
  
Lup looked up at the wall, blinking back tears.    
  
Right. Fuck. That was a  _ place _ for some people. A Lot of people.    
Lucretia  _ loved _ her house, would talk for  _ hours _ if you let her about the garden she had, how she had spent so long arranging the library, kept everything in its place, even if she didn't use the kitchen right nearly often enough.   
  
For Lup, 'home' had always just meant 'Taako.'   
  
Slowly, she got to her feet, letting the tears come as she searched for where they had put the broom and dustpan.

Lup moved slowly through the clean up, shoving wall paper strips into the bags they'd brought, sweeping twice, and even chalking out a quick circle to call all the loose glass on the floor into it Just In Case. The bag went into their designated Trash Corner until they set up with the county collection again, and she mopped the spilled lemonade with one of the ghost pillowcases they'd been using as rags.   
  
There was another fuck up to think about,  _ great _ going.

* * *

 

Barry took a breath, assuming he must have heard wrong. Edward was still giving him that easy smile, expression just vaguely curious.

  
“Ed...”

  
“I mean, seriously, dearest, it’s your house and you’re still crammed up in that tiny room when you could have the master. So why not just move some things around? We could pick out some new wallpaper and do the room over. It would look great in a dark blue instead of those whitewashed walls, don’t you think?”

  
Edward kept going and Barry felt cold, like there was ice in his veins. Then he cut Edward off, voice tight.

  
“That’s my  _ mom’s _ room, Ed.”

  
Edward waved that off and moved closer, reaching to splay his hand on Barry’s chest. 

  
“Darling, sweetheart, she’s gone. You need to move on. What better way than a little interior decorating?” Edward leaned in to kiss Barry, surprised when Barry pulled back. “Barry?”

  
“Look, I... I get it, okay? But give me some time to... to...” Edward rolled his eyes and Barry stared at him, stunned. “Fucking hell, Ed, she was my  _ mother _ , I can’t just 'move on' because you want me to!”

  
Edward clenched his jaw.

 

“I’m trying to do this for  _ you _ , you idiot. Maybe let you be a fucking adult for once in your life. But no, you’d rather keep  _ pretending _ that everything’s exactly the same and you’re going to turn a corner and she’ll be there. Guess what?  _ She’s not _ , Barry. Humans  _ die _ .”

 

Barry turned on his heel and started towards the kitchen door, headed for the stairs up to his room. He heard Edward’s footsteps on the floor behind him and stopped.

  
“You’re being petulant.” Edward shoved past him, headed towards the front door. “If you’re going to keep being a toddler about this, then I’m leaving. I’m done with this.”

  
That pulled Barry up short and his heart felt tight. The anger dissolved out of him, replaced with a tight knot of fear. Edward pushed the front door open and stepped out into the early morning light. Barry wanted to follow, he wanted to fix this. But he didn’t want to give in. He heard Edward’s car starting and felt hot angry tears on his cheeks. Fuck.

  
  


Monday rolled around and Barry walked into the office like a man walking to his own execution. Maureen greeted him with a smile and set his coffee down on his desk next to a box with a note on the top.

  
“Morning, BB. Team meeting in an hour, just so you know. We’ve got some new data.”

  
He nodded a little, looking curiously at the note. Then he shook his head to clear it and smiled at her.

  
“Neat. What uh... what sort of new data? We find life up there yet?”

 

Maureen snorted and held out a roll of paper.

 

“Nothing so wonderful. Here’s your copy. Have fun.”

 

She headed back to her own desk and he look down at the note.

 

_ I saw this and thought of you, darling. -E _

 

Barry carefully unwrapped the brown paper around the box and his eyes went wide. It was a model zeppelin, one of the fancy ones he’d been drooling over. The ones with the fully articulated pieces and the historically accurate decals. Fuck, this one could even be filled with helium and float if you assembled it correctly. He’d never even seen one in person, they only sold them in Italy. A shadow fell over his desk and he looked up to see Edward standing next to him with a smile on his face.

 

“Like it, Barry?”

 

“I love it, Ed.”

* * *

  
  
When an hour had passed and Barry still hadn't shown up, Lup slowly walked up the staircase, glancing through the open door to their shared room and then down the hall to Barry's old room.   
  
Slowly, she walked over and pushed the door open softly,   
  
"Barry...?"

 

There was a space between Barry’s old bed and the wall just wide enough for a person to sit there, alongside the bed and hidden from the door. He knew that from long experience, from years when he’d been a boy and needed a place that was quiet and alone where he could work through things he wasn’t ready to talk about. So when he’d vanished, he’d reappeared there out of old habit, pulled his knees up to his chest and started silently sobbing.    
  
He’d fucked up. He fucked up so badly that Lup (  _ Lup _ ) had lost her temper. It was his fault. He’d pushed too hard, he shouldn’t have yelled, he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.    
She was probably deciding this had all been a stupid idea. She was  _ probably _ going to pack her things back up and leave.    
  
His fault. It was all his fault.

By the time Lup appeared in the doorway, Barry had worked himself through upset and into sorrowing acceptance. Of course she was angry with him. Of course she was going to leave. He was... what? Broken? That certainly seemed right. Edward hadn’t wanted to share his toy when he was done playing with it, so like the spoiled child he was deep down, he’d broken that toy in more ways than one and cast it aside. And all the superglue in the world couldn’t fix the ragged, fraying edges.   
  
So when he heard her voice, the soft question in her tone, he looked up from where he hid and then slowly stood. The nice thing about being dead, in the grand scheme of things, was that his spectral form didn’t show tear tracks or red blotchy eyes to give away that he’d been crying. The bad thing was that instead he was flickering almost like static and the lights in the room were matching that cadence, as his wild emotions grabbed the electricity in the walls and refused to let go. He was shaking and scared and sorrowing and had spent the last hour slowly convincing himself that he was worthless.   
  
_ “S-sorry.” _ His voice caught and he looked down again.  _ ”Sorry, Lup.” _

 

“S- Aw  _ fuck _ , Bear...”    
  
Lup crossed the room in two strides, hesitating before sitting on the bed. She hadn’t been in here for any length of time since her first few visits. The room was relatively untouched, and there had been more to focus on cleaning out trash downstairs.    
She kicked her shoes off and pulled her legs up against her chest as she looked around the room. The room she’d shown Barry the moon landing in, and he’d hugged her for the first time, no harness needed.    
  
There was the rocket, place of honor on his desk. There were shelves of a few finished models, presumably older than the ones in his work room; they didn’t have the elegance of someone who knew what they were doing.    
  
But as Lup looked around, there was  _ continuity _ , things from childhood mixed in, sometimes shoved back, sometimes given prominence.    
  


His bookshelf was full of old comics and brightly colored books. Still just as nerdy as the ones in the downstairs bookcases, but  _ well _ loved.    
  
Lup’s chest ached. This was  _ Barry’s _ place, and he’d already had so much taken from him already.    
  
“ _ I’m _ sorry, Barry.”

 

Barry vanished from his spot tucked in beside the wall and reappeared sitting next to her with barely a ruffle of the blanket. The mattress didn't even dent to show he was there. If he hadn't been visible, there would have been no sign that he even existed. He closed his eyes, focusing for a moment on taking conscious control of the lights in the room if only to get them to stop flickering.    
  
_ "I-I shouldn't have... I shouldn't... I just..." _   
  
There was so much going on in his head and he couldn't get one thought to fully form enough to come out as a sentence. Then finally, he bowed his head.   
  
_ "I understand if you're mad at me." _ A shaky pause.  _ "If... if you want to... to just..." _   
  
He didn't want to say it. He couldn't say it. But his mind kept circling back on one idea, one thought that he was so very sure of. She was going to leave. He had lost his temper and that was it.

 

Lup sighed, wishing she could tug Barry against her and kiss his temple. The memory of Edward as she’d last seen him rose in front of her eyes as it tended to in these moments, bloodied and furious and not at all handsome. And as it often did in these moments, the thought that she REALLY should have kicked his ribs again before pulling Barry off pressed itself against her.    
  
She sighed again, halfway leaning into Barry, accepting the bitter cold carbonated feeling of his form.    
Edward was gone; him and Lydia locked up somewhere Kravitz would only go his most mysterious about. She suspected, but couldn’t prove, that the large nest egg Barry had been given was significantly less ‘wheedled money out of a government pension for an employee declared dead fifty years ago’ and more ‘carefully confiscated and reallotted money from rich elven necromancers.’    
  
It would have to do.    
  
“Barry, I’m here cause you want me here and because  _ I _ wanna be here. I’m not storming out because.... because we  _ fought _ . I mean.... obviously we should probably not make a habit of the whole yelling thing, but....”    
  
She bit her lip.

 

Barry leaned against her and the lights turned off entirely. If Lup bothered to look, she would see that the lights were never even switched on. It was just Barry's distress causing them to light at all.   
_ "I don't know what to do." _ He spoke with stark and quiet honesty.  _ "I know... I know you're not... I mean... I know on a conscious level that you're not gonna do that... that kind of shit, but then things happen and I just react and I don't know... I don't know how to not and I'm scared. I don't... I don't want you to leave. I don't want to fight. I just... I feel like... like there's a hole in my chest and I can't fix it and... and I just keep thinking that eventually you're going to realize how broken I am and you're gonna leave." _

The anxious fizzing of his magic expanded from his form and ran over Lup's chest, making her shiver, but she refused to move. Instead, she pushed a sense of warmth back at him, tentatively.   
  
"You're broken in interesting ways, and I'm a fucking mess of  _ issues _ , Bear. S'just been me and Taako with occasional guest additions for....longer than you've been "alive"."   
  
She put her hand on the part of the bed he was 'sitting' and tried to match the flow of his magic with her own,   
"This is new and I dunno how to deal with some of it either, but....but I  _ love _ you, like.  **LOVE** you. And I wanna  _ try _ ..."

_ "I... I love you too, Lup." _   
  
He turned to smile at her uncertainly and tried to kiss her cheek. He was still too on edge to will himself solid-ish, but he tried anyway. He was still upset, sure. Still scared. But she was here, she wasn't leaving, she wasn't yelling, she wasn't  _ mad. _ Everything was going to be okay.

The kiss felt more like buzzing jello than anything else, but Lup leaned into it regardless.   
  
_ "I uh... should probably go put my harness back on." _ He tried to smile a bit more.  _ "I could really use a hug.” _   
  
“Yes  _ please _ me too.”    
  
Unfolding her legs, she got off the bed and glanced down at him. There were words pressing against her throat, but they didn’t have a solid form, and so she settled for a look with  _ all _ her longing and affection in it.

 

Barry  _ could  _ have just stood up and walked downstairs, but honestly he wanted that thing back on and he wanted it back on now. So he vanished from the space on the bed and reappeared in the living room a few feet from the harness. He was still fluctuating badly and couldn’t manage enough of a physical form to actually pick it up though. Making a frustrated noise, he tried to focus on just that, on just being solid enough to pick it up. Instead, he dropped it twice.

Lup clattered down the stairs after him just in time to see the second drop,    
  
“Hey Bear, let me-“    
  
She picked it up, and shook it out to make stepping in easier,    
  
“I think we can be done with the wallpaper for now, you wanna just go watch some Next Gen instead?”

Barry slid into the harness, almost passing through it for a moment before he solidified and quickly did up the buckles. He turned and hugged her tightly, resting his forehead against her shoulder.   
  
"For a little while, yeah... I... can keep doing this. I just... Dammit, I  _ want _ to fix the place up. I want this to be our home. Like... together. Both of ours. I just need to adjust to the fact that things are gonna have to change for that to happen."

 

Lup draped herself around him, squeezing fiercely and pressed a kiss to his temple,    
“Something new beginning means something old has to end, and no one likes endings much...”   
  
She leaned into Barry, rubbing at his shoulders and back, trying to communicate  _ affection _ through every touch, “Maybe... maybe we could try the outside of the basement windows first? Clear the brush and wash ‘em? That’s something normal, right?”

"Yeah. Yeah, that's definitely a thing I can do. And... and like... we can work on the shed since it needs to come down anyway and... figure out what tools are worth keeping and what's getting sacrificed to the goat gods along with the lawn mower."   
  
He stood straighter and turned to catch her in a quick kiss, "I'm still... sorry about before. I shouldn't have yelled. Even if I was... upset. I shouldn't have done that. You don't deserve that."

Lup returned the kiss, moving quickly to peck at his cheek, behind his ear, and down his neck, “We’re square, I shouldn’t have, um, I should keep a better handle on magic things too.”    
  
She pulled back, tugging his hand as she walked to the staircase.

 

Barry was smiling as they headed up the stairs together., "Remind me we need to make an actual list after dinner. Something I can see and touch and like... check things off of. I  _ know _ I can just do it on my phone but... Let me be an old man on this one. There's just something about actually writing things down that makes me feel more like it's real."   
  
Turning towards their room, he grinned wickedly and let go of her hand, instead moving to pick her up and carry her to the bed. There were advantages to being able to manipulate physics when he was able to think clearly and this was absolutely one of them.

The feeling of his cold hands and then his magic fizzing over her  _ whole _ body made Lup squeak in minor protest,    
  
“ _ Barry! _ That  _ tickles! _ ” Squirming against him did nothing as long as she kept her pushing physical.

 

He laughed and set her down on the bed with a kiss. Then he went to grab her laptop. The internet had been set up before they'd even moved in, not that he fully understood just how important that was yet. But he was certainly enjoying his 3am Wikipedia sessions and had binged every documentary on the current state of space exploration that he could find.   
  
Computer in hand, he settled beside her with a sigh of contentment. In the back of his mind, he knew he'd have to talk about Merle about all of this, about the fight. That almost snuffed out the little spark of happiness growing in his chest. Instead of thinking about that more, he handed over her laptop and put an arm around her shoulders.

Lup took the laptop and opened her browser, raising an eye at the current wiki page,    


  
“Schooling the yung’uns on the space race again?”    
  
"They were getting  _ dates _ wrong, babe.  _ Dates. _ Those are in the public record. No excuse for sloppy work."

“You  _ dork, _ I love you.”

 

Pulling up Netflix and their most recently watched, she put the laptop on its cooling pad and draped herself almost entirely on top of Barry, just leaving him enough room to see.    
The need for touch after a fight and his manhandling her had sparked off a certain amount of twitchiness, which she shoved down as Sir Patrick Stewart’s opening monologue came on.

Barry’s body under hers was going from cold to cool, his arm hooked around her waist, Wesley Crusher was wearing an eye searing sweater on screen, and they were both relaxed, a purr starting in her throat as an answer to his hum, and it would  _ be okay _ . Maybe not all at once and forever but she had not fucked it up irrevocably.

Barry rested his head against her, listening to the show more than watching it for a moment, just enjoying the vibrations of her purr and all that it implied, more than content to be a human pillow. He ran his fingers through her hair, humming softly, content. He was much calmer now, as evidence by his magic being very nearly under control and nearly flush with his skin. It was so easy with Lup, so... so right. He wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve this level of happiness but he wasn't going to squander it.

  
“....thinking I should probably look for a counselor thingie too,” Lup blurts out as Troi walks onscreen. “Just like.... you shouldn’t have to be working through your shit and have to deal with mine too.”   
  


He sat up a little, surprised by her words, and his arm around her waist tightened just slightly.   
  
"Yeah?" He moved so he could kiss her cheek lightly. "I mean, I don't mind dealing with your shit, as you put it. It's not like you don't have to put up with mine. Normal people don't have their boyfriend go ghost when they get upset. But like... you'll tell me if I ever do something wrong, right? I don't... I don't actually know if..." He paused, thinking back through his sessions with Merle, trying to remember the words. "I don't know if you have any triggers that I should... you know, be aware of. Stuff I shouldn't do, or whatever. You're putting in all this effort for  _ me, _ and I should do the same for you."

 

“Mmmm-“    
  
Lup buried her face against his chest, one flat and listening for his slow heart beat, the other only barely tilted towards the screen. Geordi was in the holosuite doing something with pseudoscience.    
“Yeah but yours is trauma and mine is being shitty at interpersonal stuff. If you wanna ask Luce about why we broke up, I’m sure she could give you an earful.”    
  
She still winced over some of those memories.

 

He shrugged a little,"Doesn't mean I shouldn't still help, if I can."   
His heartbeat was there, slow as ever but loud and strong, solid. He kissed the top of her head and settled back down again. "And seriously, if I do something wrong, tell me. I'm still figuring out a lot of things and... and I don't want to fuck up and hurt you."   
  


“Let’s go on the basis that you’re doing fine until I say so,” the resumed hair stroking was making her want to drift off into a nap, “cause if there’s one thing you can count on me to do, it’s make a noisy scene....”

Barry snorted with quiet laughter. Then he briefly thought of the scene in the living room and stopped. She certainly wasn't kidding. He would have to figure out how to deal with that, to remember that she was upset but that it would pass and it would be alright. They would be alright.


	4. Chapter 4

An evening and a morning; the fourth day.    
Taako and Kravitz were coming over that afternoon to be helpful, and Lup was determined to use them for the basement, making sure that neither her OR Barry was ever down there on their own.    
  
But until they got here, there was outside work to be done; the basement windows scrubbed and the overgrown bushes pruned to death so as much natural light got in as possible.    
  
She had been outside since an early breakfast, with shears and a spade.... and sometimes  _ very careful _ uses of fire. There was a bucket of water next to her, it was  _ fine. _

Barry was working in the backyard, focused on the shed and trying to tame the backyard as much as he possibly could. At least enough to get space for a new garden. He'd been talking about putting in some vegetables and stuff like that. Plus they needed space for the Goat Palace that was inevitably happening. He'd separated out piles of useful tools and things that were far too gone to be useful and things that were  _ potentially _ salvageable if he was careful or creative. Later, they were going to have to do something about the shed itself and as he pushed on one of the walls and it gave ominously, he was starting to very seriously consider Bonfire as its future occupation.

As if in answer to his thoughts, there was a flare of light from around the house and a  **FWUMPH** Almost instantly followed by Lup’s voice;   
  
“Everything is  _ absolutely FINE! _ ”

Barry dropped the saw he'd been examining and ran as fast as he could around the house, eyes wide with panic.   
  
"Lup, are you okay?!"

Lup was standing in front of a completely charred to near ash shrubbery with an annoyed set to her ears, “It’s  _ fine _ , didn’t touch the roof or anything. The thing was just  _ way _ deader than I thought.”    
  
She kicked the offending ex-plant and it crumbled, “and yet it wasn’t coming out of the GROUND...”    
  
Her hair was somewhat singed around her bangs and her eyebrows were much shorter, but she seemed unharmed otherwise.

Barry frowned slightly in concern and reached to touch the singed spots.   
  
"Babe... I love you but... please,  _ please, _ don't light yourself on fire?" He asked it with a hint of entreaty in his voice, like a man who never in a million years thought that was something he would actually have to say out loud. "Also, that damn shrub has been dead longer than I have."

“It’s dead and  _ gone _ now,” Lup said with some relish as she grabbed a solid part and tossed it into her wheelbarrow, “I’ve declared war on blackberry bushes, we will have  _ none _ . They’re evil and I hate them.”    
  
Carefully sidestepping a question was not the same as ignoring it.

"I mean... valid. Berry bushes are uh... are pretty invasive and..." He paused and frowned. "Babe, you can't just ignore the question. I love you very much. No being on fire."

She tossed the bush into the wheelbarrow where it promptly fell into pieces, and gave Barry a bright smile, “I solemnly swear I will not accidentally set myself on fire.”   
  
He moved to help her and then grinned.   
  
"Speaking of things being on fire... How do you feel about dealing with the shed once I get everything out of it? I can run out and pick up marshmallows if you're interested."

Lup’s ears flicked up in interest,    
“Eugh, no, you don’t want those paint fumes on marshmallows, there’s probably lead and every asbestos imaginable.”    


Barry laughed and moved to kiss her cheek.   
  
"Alright, alright. Does that mean we  _ can't _ have a bonfire with the shed? It's... almost definitely lead paint. We didn't exactly avoid it back in the day."

“Oh no. Babe. I’m  _ gonna burn it _ . We’re just not cooking FOOD over it.”    
  
She leaned into his kiss then grabbed her shovel, eyeing the next blackberry bramble.    
  
“Two more of these motherfuckers and we can wash the windows.”

"Oh hell yeah. I just gonna finish sorting the tools and uh... and figure out what a few of them are."   
  
He chuckled quietly and started walking back towards the backyard, still talking.   
  
"Most of the tools out there were my dad's and I just never moved them. And it's not like he was around to tell me what they were. So... nice little mystery pile."

Lup’s ears flicked in his direction, interested; he’d often talked fondly of his mother, Marlena, but his dad was never mentioned more than in passing. Someday they should just have a sit-down and talk backstories or something....   
  
“If you set them aside, I bet Magnus would  _ love _ to tell you what they are and how to use ‘em.”

"Yeah, absolutely. If he can figure out what they're for and its something he'll use, he's welcome to them."   
  
He looked back, smiling fondly for a moment, and then disappeared around the side of the house as he went to go back to work. About an hour later, he reappeared, covered in dust and dirt and with a few cobwebs and a leave in his hair. He was grinning like an absolute idiot.   
  
"Shed's done! And I separated everything out.  _ And _ I found a can of kerosene that's still sealed."

Lup had dug a trench around the base of the last bramble and had a firm hold of the root, bracing her feet and straining as she pulled,    
  
“Sounds.... great..... Bear......”    
  
Easing up, she glared at the tap root, “ _ You WILL die. _ Easy or hard way  _ motherfucker _ ,”    
  
One of her hands came up and a flame flickered to life above it.

Barry started laughing, one hand over his mouth.   
  
"Want a hand or... or are you good?"   
  
He took a few steps closer, mindful of the blast radius.

“No, this is  _ personal _ ,” Lup’s hand came down over the stem and there was a moment of nothing before light flared down the root and there was a soft  _ WHUSH _ of displaced earth and Lup sat down HARD with most of a blackberry bush on top of her,    
  
“ **WITNESS!** ”

Barry snorted a laugh and went to get help her up. He held out his hand, looking at the charred remains of shrub.   
  
"Well, now you've done it, babe. If we're not careful, that shrub's gonna get a metal suit and join the Dark Side."

“There was no saving it, it had Fallen long before we got here,” Lup eased up, gripping his hand and wincing,    
  
“Besides, I’ll watch it burn  _ all _ the way and not walk away when it’s only half gone.”

Barry pulled her up to standing and then hugged her tightly, kissing her. There was a light of excitement in his eyes when he spoke.   
  
"You knooow, we could always throw all this brush into the shed when you torch it."

Lup cackled loudly and threw an arm around Barry’s shoulder, nudging her nose against the side of his head, “Knew you were the smart one in this house, let’s burninate this shit.”

"I mean, or I just  _ really _ like how much you enjoy burning things, babe," He grabbed up the last of the brush and tossed it into the wheelbarrow. "Shall we? Or did you wanna wait until after dark? Definitely a more impressive fire but uh... I'm a little nervous about that kerosene if we can't  _ see _ it."

“Nah, let’s get the hose and practice good fire safety,” Lup leaned forward and back until her spine popped and she grabbed the wheelbarrow, “Besides, after cleaning out the basement when Krav and Taako get here, we’re not going to want to be watching anything dangerous.”

He exhaled slowly. Right, he'd forgotten about the basement. And dinner with Taako and Kravitz. Not that he minded hanging out with them. No, he minded the idea of spending a prolonged period of time in the basement.   
  
"Yeah... Right. Right... Shove those in and I'll grab the hose."

Lup gave him an understanding look as she shoved the barrow forward to what was left of the shed.    
  
Once she’d tossed the offending brambles in and upended the entire can of kerosene over them, she took her shovel and started digging a trench around the area.

When Barry returned a minute later, he dropped the hose on the ground and gave her a thumbs up.   
  
"I'm good, babe. Ready to light this thing the fuck up?"

“ _ Hell yes _ ,” Lup dropped the shovel and wiped her forehead, it was nearly noon and she was feeling it. “Right, okay, give it some room?” Holding her hands out in front of her (which helped her aim,  _ whatever _ Taako said) she focus on the heat around them, pulling it towards her and  _ in _ .    
  
Generally, her own body heat sparked against her magic was fine for small things, fast blasts and weapons when she needed it.   
This was different; she wanted something big to burn  _ fast _ and  _ hot _ .    
  
The summer heat shivered and drew towards her, sinking into her skin and coiled there, pushed down in density as Lup called more and more of and shoved it on top.    
Right before it twisted and broke free, she inhaled and blew toward the bottom of the shed;    
A shimmer formed in front of her, inside the trench circle she had dug, curling into a sphere. It hung for the space it took for Lup to breathe out, bright and crackling, then shot to the base of the shed.    
  
There was a puff of dirt and the shed went from ‘not on fire’ to  _ ENGULFED _ in a blink.    
  
Lup watched it with satisfaction, folding her arms, ears tilted forward in interest.

Barry wrapped his arms around her waist, watching the flames eat at the wood of the old shed. He loved watching her work her magic. As much as he knew (from endless rant from Taako), that magic was a science, she made it look like  _ art. _ And she was so warm against him.    
  
"Holy shit." There was awe in his tone. Awe and wonder and adoration. "Babe, that's... that was amazing."   
  
He trailed off, just watching with a smile on his face.

“I love it when a plan comes together,” the smugness in Lup’s voice was obvious; an appreciative audience is  _ always _ nice, Taako always preferring to couch his compliments in between calling her a show-off.    
Bumping her hips back against his, Lup raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look away from the quickly dying down fire.  _ Very _ appreciative, then.    
  
“S’gonna be about five minutes before it really dies down, we should start spraying the ground around it.”

Barry looked momentarily embarrassed but went to grab the hose.   
  
"Would you like to do the honors or should I?" He was fiddling with the nozzle. "Noting that it needs to be turned on at the house still."

_ This _ time the look Lup gave him was slightly exasperated, “ _ Barry _ -“    
Huffing, she turned away from her  _ very good _ fire, and tapped his shoulder as she trotted back towards the house, “If it tries anything, tell it to fuck off!”

"Alright, I may not have thought one all the way through." He was blushing brightly and kept fiddling with the nozzle of the hose while he watched the flames. "I sort of wonder if I could like... put it out by... pulling the heat out? Or maybe making a breeze or..."   
  
And then she turned the spigot and the water shot out of the hose and straight up, knocking his glasses off and drenching him completely.

Lup jogged around the side of the house to Barry looking blindly for his glasses on the ground and the hose spraying a cheerful, steady stream just to the side of her circle.    
  
Now the important thing was to  _ stay calm _ .    
  
“You, um, you okay, Bear?”

Barry managed to close his hand on his glasses and jammed them back on. They were muddy but they weren't broken and honestly that was all he could ask for right now.   
  
"I'm good. Only thing bruised here is my pride." Then he reached for the hose again and stood with it in his hand. "Now then, back to that question. You wanna put this thing back out or should I?"

Lup nodded as he found his glasses, held for a beat and then bent over, practically choking with laughter. "Holy  _ shit- _ " She breathed hard and wiped the least grimy part of her forearm against her eyes, "Holy  _ SHIT _ , that was  _ classic _ ."   
  
With a few stray giggles, she held out a hand for the hose, not quite able to form more words.

Barry raised an eyebrow and then grinned wickedly, turning the hose on her instead of handing it over.

Usually, the first thought a person has when sprayed with a hose is  _ not _ "Holy fuck I love him", but Lup acknowledged to herself that they were a special case in most things.   
Stumbling back, she blew water out her nose and raised a middle finger in his direction;   
  
"When there is not a bonfire going, Barold Jacob Bluejeans, I  _ will _ have my  **revenge!** ”

Barry laughed and adjusted the nozzle again to reduce the stream before handing her the hose.   
  
"Lup, if you didn't, I would be wondering who you were and what you'd done with my girlfriend."   
  
He adjusted his glasses and then his shirt, "I'm really glad they got me the new model," he said, tapping the strap for the harness. It was a slimmer profile against his back and most importantly: this version was waterproof.

Lup flicked the stream briefly at his face, more of a feint than anything and dragged the hose around the slowly dying fire that used to be a shed.   
  
"Makes showering easier for sure."   
  
With most of its fuel burnt in the first flare, the fire was dying quickly, running outwards to the surrounding weeds until it hit Lup's fire break. Spraying along that, she soaked the foliage outside the perimeter too, and flicked the steam up into a couple of the trees around the property edge.   
  
She couldn't feel the heat of any sparks, but it didn't pay to be lazy.   
  
Gradually, the fire burned itself out, Lup almost imagined it settling into hot embers with a dissatisfied grumble, and she turned the hose from a stream to a spray to cool it off.   
  
"And  _ now _ ....we need lunch."

Barry offered his hand as he turned towards the house.   
  
"And dry clothes." He looked around a little. "How do you feel about summer squash? It uh... it's good shit. Roasts real easy, grows without you even hardly trying... Maybe like... peas and carrots and stuff too?" He was looking around, plotting a garden in his mind, a huge smile on his face.

“Hell yeah, I wanna try some beans too. Tomatoes if we can find some that aren’t too fussy.”    
She took his hand, grinning at how there wasn’t nearly as much contrast what with the physical labor in the sun, “And a rosemary bush next to the kitchen door.”    
  
The kitchen was the first thing she had thoroughly scrubbed, the appliances may be outdated, and she didn’t trust the fridge for anything that would spoil overnight, but Lup could  _ cook _ in it.    
So far there had been a lot of takeout, stir-fried rice, and scrambled eggs, but today they had worked hard and needed  _ good _ shit.    
  
“How’s roast beef sandwiches sound?”

"That sounds amazing. What about a window box with some other herbs in it? Get some thyme and shit? I could probably build one... It's basically a box. Can't fuck up a box."   
  
He went to get the nice rolls out of the breadbox and set them on the counter, "What time are they supposed to be over? We're gonna get that done before it gets dark out, right?"   
  
He sounded more and more uncomfortable the more he thought about going down into the basement. Which... was honestly understandable.

“Should be soon, I said we’d feed them, hey check my phone and see if he’s making excuses why they aren’t out the door yet.”    
  
Pulling a head of lettuce and a tomato out of the ancient and whining fridge, Lup set to washing.    
The water was fine to drink as long as they filtered it for taste, but Lup had put a time limit on showers and insisted on taking the first one always until they could get a heater with more capacity.

Barry picked her phone up off the counter and skimmed the messages.   
  
"Let's see... Had to feed the cats... Kravitz had paperwork... Oh! Good news, Kravitz is bringing my new papers over. I'm almost a real boy who exists in the eyes of the government again. They'll be a little late but not too bad."   
  
“Awesome, Cap’nport can hire you for realsies then,” 

He moved to go sit and then remembered he was soaking wet and just set her phone on the table instead, "I'm gonna go change into something dry, okay?"   
  
Lup had dried out much faster and her clothes were barely damp as she gave him an affectionate look, “Yeah, hey check if we need to make another laundromat run for towels, yeah?”

"Will do, babe."   
  
He leaned in to kiss her cheek and then headed off upstairs for at least a clean shirt. After a moment's consideration, he upgraded that to clean shirt, clean jeans,  _ and _ a quick shower. He was absolutely filthy after his adventure in the tool shed. Pulling out his phone to send her a text, he grabbed a towel, noting that it was the last one, and headed towards the bathroom.   
  
_ Lup, I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick. I found actual leaves in my hair. Why didn't you tell me I looked like I'd been rolling in the dirt? By the way, this is the last towel. - Barry _

Lup didn’t bother checking her phone until after the rattle of water pipes told her the shower had turned on, and she grinned somewhat goofily over Barry’s formatting.    
  
What a goober. 


	5. Chapter 5

Lup’s ears pricked as the sound of tires rolling up drifted through the front window, and she grabbed two more bread rolls for cutting.    
  
As she suspected, Taako did not wait for anyone to answer the door, exploding in with a yelled;    
  
“YOU LOVE BIRDS BETTER HAVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES ON!”

 

Barry, who had just stepped out of the shower and secured a towel around his waist when he heard Taako shout, grinned to himself and tried to decide just how bad an idea it was to just  _ casually _ walk downstairs like this. Then he remembered Kravitz was here too and while he was one hundred percent down to fuck with Lup's brother, fucking with the crazy powerful government agent who worked for some black books paranormal agency was  _ probably _ not a great idea.   
  
"I will be in a minute!" shouted down the stairs was his compromise.

 

“If you go kicking down doors like that, you deserve what you see, buttmuch,” Lup rinsed her hands before reaching out to pull him into a tight hug. It had been almost a week and she’d  _ missed _ him, and judging by the way Taako clung back she wasn’t the only one.    
  
“Pssh, like you are gonna make me  _ knock _ , goofus,” his ears pricked at the counter, “is that the good bread?”    
  
“ _ Obviously _ ,” Lup kept her arm draped around Taako’s shoulder and grinned at Kravitz as he lingered somewhat awkwardly in the kitchen doorway, “Hey Krav, is uh, is that what you wear for cleaning?”    
  
Kravitz’s allowance to dressing down was a black short sleeved, button down shirt with black jeans instead of slacks.

 

Barry came down the stairs a minute later, still working on trying to dry his hair with one hand and floating the hamper of dirty laundry in front of him. He'd made a discover recently that he had a harder time doing that now. Something about his low body temperature mixed with the water and made it want to cling to him. Or maybe it was an electromagnetic effect? Possibly both. Either way, he had a notebook full of his observations about his day to day life that he was meaning to transcribe for Davenport as part of a project he was working on. He set the hamper down and tossed the towel into it before walking into the kitchen.   
  
"Hey guys. How's it going?"   
  


Kravitz was looking down at his own outfit, a slight frown on his face,  "I  _ did _ dress for cleaning. I have sneakers." Then he produced a leather case and started setting documents on the table. "Here's everything I said I would produce for you. If you need anything else for any reason, let me know."

 

“Don’t diss my man’s fashion sense, Lulu,” Taako gave her waist an extra squeeze before moving to the sandwich fixings to start making his.    
  
Lup blew Kravitz a kiss and followed Taako, “want cheese on this, babe?”

Barry was going through the papers on the table and looked up at Lup, wincing a little,  "Maybe... not this time."   
  


The Great Ice Cream Incident was only a week behind them. As was the midnight phone conversation with Noelle in which she had  _ laughed at him _ and reminded him exactly how the harnesses worked. ( "The harness makes a  _ memory _ of your body. Your body  _ remembers _ being lactose intolerant. Do the math, genius." ) So Barry wasn't exactly feeling brave about the concept of milk or anything with milk in it.

 

“Sure thing,” Lup spread mustard (regular yellow, she would work him up to the spicier stuff  _ eventually _ ) on the bread and handed him the finished sandwich, ears pricked at the paperwork,  “Those mean we can drive the Chevy, right?”    
  
Taako brought his sandwiches over and draped across Lup as he slid one to Kravitz.

 

Barry held up a brand new driver's license that even had a picture of him on it ( one that had been taken when he was alive and  _ heavily _ doctored to look modern and thus didn't have the blurry look pictures of him now had ) and the title to the car.   
  
"Got the pink for it right here, with my name on it and everything." He raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. "Don't suppose people still drive out to the old overlook, do they?"   
  
There was just enough teasing in his tone to make it  _ abundantly _ clear he was referring to some old lover's lane.

 

“Wouldn’t know,” Lup raised an eyebrow at Kravitz while Taako made exaggerated gagging noises, “you’ve lived here longer, Skeletor, any idea? Munch, you can get your OWN chair for your bony ass if you don’t stop.”

Kravitz set down his sandwich and swallowed very deliberately.    
  
"The overlook you're referring to isn't the popular spot anymore and hasn't been for about 20 years. You want the river road for that."   
  
Taako stopped making gagging noises and stared at Kravitz who had gone back to calmly eating his sandwich.   
  
"Huh... Well, thanks, I guess." Barry looked a little surprised but he just shrugged and smiled at Lup. "Sure sounds nice though, doesn't it?"

 

Lup’s eyes  _ sparkled _ as they met his, “s’long as you’re driving, babe, I haven’t driven stick since they invented automatic.” 

"Haven't driven in a while. I might have to do some practice runs."  There was a gleam in Barry's eyes as he spoke and Kravitz took a sip of the iced coffee he'd brought with him.   
  


"Should I bother reminding you that we have things like speed limits now?"   
  
"I can be a good boy. Won't get caught or anything."   
  
Taako snorted and leaned back against Lup, “so we’re heading into the murder basement after this, right? You haven’t set up  _ any _ wards yet, Lulu, what the fuck?”    
  


Lup’s ears flattened, but she tried to keep her voice light, “Wanted to anchor ‘em down there, discourage any, uuuh, repeat offenses.”   
  


Barry’s shoulders slumped as he finished admiring his new license and tuned into the conversation Lup and Taako were having.   
  
"Yeah, basement time. It's... you know, it feels  _ better _ but not like... one hundred percent a-okay. That, and I really want to like... enforce the 'ghosts that aren't me who decide to live here have to approved and also pay rent' rule."

Lup gave him a sympathetic look and pushed Taako off her lap,  “Yeah yeah, c’mon, I have lights and loud music, we can do this.”    
  
Taako gave a token protest before gulping the rest of his sandwich and following Lup to her charm bag, “yeah so I brought some obsidian and some opals, wasn’t sure what base you wanted-“    
  


As Lup dug in her bag and pulled out her charm lights, they threw ideas back and forth, discussed what changes to makes to include the surrounding grounds, and which cleansing spells to throw over the basement before starting and after finishing.    
  
This was not to  _ put off _ going down into the basement, but it was a good ten minutes before Lup opened the door, flicked the runes for light, and handed the spheres to Taako for him to throw in the air so they floated.

Barry followed after them with a dustpan and broom. He hadn't learned enough about magic to help with a set spell like this, not yet, but he  _ could _ work on cleaning. Kravitz was a step behind him, looking around curiously. This was the first time he was actually seeing the place where the ritual murder had taken place and he was, he had to admit, quite a bit interested, professionally speaking.   
  
Barry stopped for just a moment before going through the door, one hand on the doorframe. Then he walked down into the basement and went to lean his broom against the wall.

 

 

The effect of being in the basement was apparent with Lup and Taako almost instantly; their banter turned to bickering, ears flicked low and uneasy. Even with the charmed lights and grimy sunlight shining in through the newly cleared windows, memory lurked in the corners. All despite the  _ very _ thorough cleansing they’d done, Lucretia had done, and Merle had followed up with the day before Lup and Barry had moved in.    
  
Finally, Lup cut off an especially snide comment from Taako and pointed at Kravitz, “There’s a bucket and dish soap by the sink upstairs, could you fill it and bring it down?”    
  
Turning to Barry, she held out her hands to the pile of Old Junk stacked on shelves along the far wall,  “Anything here worth saving, babe?”

 

Kravitz headed upstairs with one last look around and a frown of concern on his face. Barry was taking deep breaths, trying to keep himself calm, but he went to look at the stack of things as she spoke.   
  
"Uh... yeah... yeah, some of it. Lemme just..."    
  


He picked up two boxes, glancing in them quickly before setting them by the stairs. The rest of it was stacks of folded and bound newspapers and magazines, a few old mason jars full of something that was probably once food, and rotten wood. The other side of the room had a workbench with more woodworking tools that looked like they hadn't been touched in almost a century. There was a wooden shelf above the bench and a box affixed to the wall that had the letters G B carved into the side. The box could latch shut and contained several saws and other dangerous tools.   
  
"That should be it."

“Cool. Man, if Magnus got excited over your table, he might actually  _ nut _ over this stuff,” Lup waved her hand at the woodworking tools, “C’mon, ‘Ko, stop being an asshole and help me trash this junk.”    
  


Taako grumbled something unflattering, but took out a piece of chalk and started drawing a circle, Lup followed behind him with a different color.    
  
Once they had finished and Taako had place tiny quartz pebbles at select places, the circle started glowing, as they fed magic into it.    
  


Lup picked up an old mason jar that probably had had a whole ecosystem in it for a brief time before it was eaten by the Parasite and tossed it into the circle’s center.    
  
There was a hum, and the jar winked out of existence.    
  
“Baller.”

 

Barry's jaw dropped and he picked up another jar, tossing it into the circle.   
  
"Holy shit. What... what is this? Is this like... a singularity? A... a wormhole? Or like... an actual portal into a void or... like...  _ how does this work?" _ He was beyond excited, babbling about black holes and dark matter. "Lup,  _ please _ teach me to do this. Please?"   
  


Kravitz walked down with the filled bucket and bottle of dish soap. He handed both to Taako and watched Barry continue to throw things into the circle like a kid in a candy store.

Taako did a double take and looked at Kravitz in horrified betrayal before turning a Look on Lup, who giggled and held out her hands for the bucket,  “Ask Taako, it’s  _ his _ big summer project. And no,” she sighed deeply as she walked to under the windows, “we can’t use it for trash all the time, I asked.”    
  


“It would take  _ way _ too much power to sustain for a while,” Taako cut in, examining his nails, “it opens up into a chamber of magma about twenty miles below us.”

_ "Holy shit." _ Barry looked very exceptionally excited now. "Okay, so what if uh... what if you had a better energy source like... like... nuclear or... Is zero point energy real or is that one a comic book thing? I'll be honest, I haven't been able to figure that one out. The articles I've been reading really go back and forth on that one."   
  
Kravitz chuckled quietly and handed the bucket to Lup before going to put an arm around Taako's waist and leaning in to kiss his cheek.   
"I do love when you show off, dear."

Taako looked exceptionally pleased and bumped his hip against Kravitz’s as he turned to Barry,  “So one of the long term stuff we have in the lab is turning magical energy into other sorts and vise versa, so you’re not far off-“    
  


“I need  _ help _ with these windows and if ch’boy is showing off his nerd credentials he’d best be tossing trash!”    
  
Lup sketched another circle under the windows and the air shimmered into hard stairs in front of her.  _ Boy _ she was going to sleep well tonight.

 

Barry looked a little sheepish and went to grab the broom so he could work on sweeping out under the stairs and sorting the things that were under there.   
  
"We should probably get someone in to check the furnace. I don't actually remember the last time I got it serviced..."

Lup’s ears pricked up and Taako laughed, chucking a box of newspapers into the circle,    
  
“Still have those notes, Lulu?”    
  
“Yeah.... bet I could keep it running until  _ after _ we replace the water heater.” 

Barry raised an eyebrow at that,"Are you gonna tell me that furnaces are out of date now too, because I don't believe you."  He had moved a few more boxes to the spot near the stairs to go through later.

“Nah, furnaces just  _ like _ me.”    
  
“Yeah there was this  _ one _ time we lived in fuckin’ nowhere Wyoming and the landlord would let the ancient furnace die in the middle of this polar vortex. I swear, Lu brought that thing back from the brink of death like five times.”

"Oh huh, that's actually pretty neat. Still, this thing is like... Let me see... from the 40s? Aren't they only supposed to last like 20 years?"   
  


They settled into a rhythm, Kravitz climbing up Lup’s aircase to help with the windows and an hour or so passed cheerfully, with a lot more sunlight reaching to the corners by the time they were done.   
  
  
Barry finished sweeping the space under the stairs and went to check the service log next to the furnace.   
  


Kravitz paused in the middle of washing a window and turned, walking back down the staircase of solid air. He had a frown on his face as he looked around the room.   
  
"Are you sure everything was cleaned out?" He sniffed the air, his frown deepening. "Because I think..." And he went to the workbench and opened one of the cardboard boxes kept there. "I thought so... A preservation spell. I see these a lot..."   
  
He set one... two... three... four...   
  


Barry turned away before he could see exactly how many jars of blood Kravitz took out of the box, his already pale face tinged green with nausea.

 

Taako and Lup’s complexions were too dark to go the same green, but Taako’s face looked like it was trying, his eyes flicking from the jars to Kravitz’s face, frown lines forming on his forehead.  Lup had gone pale enough that her freckles stood out like constellations on her face, and she slowly walked down to ground level to pick one of the jars up, inspecting it, stony faced.    
  
“I  _ guess _ \- her voice was clipped, each word bitten off at the consonants, “-that explains the redone circle.”

 

Barry didn't say a word, he just walked up the stairs and dropped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He felt like he was going to vomit. He'd known things were bad, he'd known that night had been  _ bad. _ He had had no idea... None. And all of that had been here all these years...   
  


Kravitz examined the jars carefully and then picked one up, swirling the contents.   
"Perfectly preserved. I'm... actually sort of impressed in a horrified kind of way. This is difficult to do. Taako, dear, remind me to pick their brains for the spell later."

“Sure thing, Bones,” Taako answered, weakly, “You okay, Lulu?”   
  
Lup looked up at them slowly and seemed to come back from a long ways away, the glass in her hand showing signs of heating. She carefully placed the jar back and smiled distantly at Kravitz,  “So visiting hours are still off limits?”

 

Kravitz looked at Lup for a long moment and then looked at the jars of blood,  "I... will have to speak to my supervisor."   
  


Lup smile got brighter, “Cool, baller, awesome.”    


She folded her hands carefully in front of her and met Kravitz’s eyes, “I’m going upstairs now, and before I come back, I want those disposed of in a manner of your choosing. Don’t care how, just as long as they’re out of  _ my _ house, and my  _ boyfriend _ never has to see them again.”    
  
Her smile was brittle, but she wasn’t shaking as she turned and went up the stairs.   
  


Upstairs, Barry was trying to remember the things that Merle had taught him. Deep breaths, something about counting? Numbers? Fuck. Instead, he fell into a much, much older habit, something he'd used in college to help with the stress of exams.   
"Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium..."   
He could keep going for quite a while and he would keep going until he either couldn't remember any more elements or until he was calm.

"Aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulphur..."   
Barry looked up as Lup stepped into the kitchen. He was rubbing his arms uncomfortably. He was still pale, still clearly not alright,  "H-hey, Lup. Sorry about uh... just sort of  _ bailing." _ He took a breath and tried to smile at her. It looked strained. "I... I didn't know that... that..."

Lup offered a hand out, trying to blink the cold rage out of her face at the least,  “C’mon, Bear, the couch’s mostly clear.”    
  
Tugging him to his feet, she aimed for the library, which was where most of the boxes had been shoved until the walls of the living room were done.

 

He took her hand, squeezing it slightly. He was freezing cold in a way he usually only was when he was incorporeal and he seemed to be shaking.   
"I... I thought all that was done, you know? That it was behind us and... and we wouldn't need to deal with anything else from... from all that."   
  


When they reached the couch, he settled next to her and kept holding her hand, desperately needing that anchor to keep him here and now.

Lup leaned against the couch arm and pulled Barry against her, draping herself around him as much as possible,    
“Yeah, no, that was a nasty surprise. I’m thankful we weren’t trying to do that on our own.”    
Her voice was flat, and she buried her face into the side of his head, ignoring the cold.

Barry hugged her tightly, closing his eyes tightly.    
"Yeah... That... yeah." He leaned against her, taking deep breaths and relaxing as all he could smell now was  _ her. _ "Lup, can we... take a break for a while? Like... not too long. I don't want to make them do all the work but... fuck."

"I wasn't gonna let you move for the next twenty minutes anyway," Lup squeezed her arms around him and relaxed, "They're uh, they're taking care of it, and we're going to sit here and let them."   
She nosed along his temple and jaw, not quite kissing, just wanting the feeling of him being  _ real _ against her, even if 'alive' was too much to ask.

This smile was more real and he did kiss her forehead lightly.   
  
"Thanks." He went quiet then, just leaned against her and letting himself warm back up. They were both here, they were alright, everything was alright. "Love you."

 

"Love you  _ so much _ ," Lup pressed her face into his hair and breathed; it was  _ okay _ and would continue being okay.   
  


 

They lay there for about fifteen minutes before a distinctly tired looking Taako walked up the stairs and draped over the back of the couch,   
  
"If you don't scooch, Barold, I'm laying on top of you."

"I'll be real, Taako, I think I'm okay with that." Barry muttered it but he scooched over as much as he could to make room on the couch while also staying as close to Lup as possible. "So... uh... how'd it go?"   


Lup held out her free arm and Taako oozed over the side, squishing himself between Barry and the couch,    
  
"S'dealt with anyway, uuuuuuh, your shelves are clear, dismantled the spell circle, so no accidental falling into the void-"   
He shoved his face into Lup's cheek and she grumbled, wriggling under the pressure of two bodies.   
  


Kravitz had gone out the backdoor from the kitchen with a box in hand and his cellphone balanced precariously on said box while he texted back and forth with his supervisor regarding that and other things. He was headed towards the car, but he'd told Taako he'd be back in in a moment.

 

"Oh good. Definitely-- Definitely did  _ not _ want 'potentially falling into the void' to be the latest in a long line of stupid things that are wrong with the basement. Even though chucking things in was very fun. Ten out of ten, would chuck things into the void with wild abandon again."   
  
Barry adjusted slightly, trying to give Lup some space so she wasn't getting squished between them but also really wanting that physical contact right now. He relaxed then and leaned back into the couch cushions and closing his eyes,  "Hey Lup, what are we doing for dinner? Because I super very much don't feel like moving from this spot any time in the next... mmmmmmweek."

"I'm currently not available for comment. Too busy being squished.  _ Taako _ . Send your boy out for pizza."   
  
Taako muttered and slung an arm around Barry, rather than have it trapped awkwardly between them, "So much for hospitality, Lu."   
  
She flicked his ear, not willing to move enough to tickle him and mess up their homeostasis.

 

Barry was surprised for just a moment and then leaned into the contact. Taako could be brusque, sure, and Taako could be rude, but Taako cared a lot. He just hid it well. It as honestly refreshing for Barry to get these periodic reminders.   
  


Kravitz walked in the door then, looking at his phone with his eyebrows raised. He looked at Lup, expression unreadable beyond that slim layer of surprise,  "Your request was approved. My supervisor will oversee."   
  
Taako nodded a little and gestured airily,  "Cool cool, babe, but ch'boy's hungry and these two decided that we're getting pizza. Remember that place we went last weekend? Think you could go pick something up?"   
  
Kravitz's expression softened entirely as he gave Taako a tender smile,  "Absolutely. A cheese and a pepperoni good for everyone?"

Lup met Kravitz’s eyes and smiled briefly, pupils dilating dark, before raising a hand,  “One pesto and goat cheese too, you’re a doll, Krav, thanks so much.”    
  
Her hand dropped back around Barry’s shoulders, tracing idle circles.

 

Barry squeezed Lup's hand gently in thanks. He didn't catch the look, since he was looking at Kravitz and not at Lup in that moment. Then he turned towards her a little, curiosity on his face.   
"Request?"

Lup blinked, trying to keep her face cheerful as Kravitz walked to the front door, “I asked to yell at your ex, and I can as long as I’m polite about it.”    
  
Taako snorted, squirming into a more comfortable position and accidentally-on-purpose whapping his ear against Lup’s face,    
“S’not gonna do any  _ good _ , Lu...”   
  
“ _ I’ll _ feel better, it will do  _ me _ good.”

"Is.... is that a good idea?" Barry sounded uncertain. "I mean, what are you expecting other than just... yelling? I guess that might make you feel better but..." He shrugged just slightly. "Yeah, I guess if you wanna do that. I won't be going with you for that one. I... I don't wanna be in the same  _ building _ as him again, let alone the same room."   
  
Taako muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Good life choice."

Lup hugged Barry closer, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “it’s cool, babe, probably not the greatest idea, but I didn’t get to punch him before, sooooo....”   
  
She did NOT show the relief she felt; the things she wanted to say were probably not all things he should hear.    
  


 

It took nearly an hour for Kravitz to come back, and all three of them were dozing when the crunch of tires heralded his return with  _ food _ .    
Lup squirmed, and discovered with dismay that her  _ butt _ had managed to fall asleep,  “Okay boys, I’m evicting you, this is your only warning.”

 

Barry opened his eyes blearily and yawned a little.    
  
"S'my couch..." He mumbled, but he stood and stretched before going to open the front door for Kravitz. "Do we want plates? And table? Or just... I'm so very okay with sitting on the floor and eating pizza right now."   
  
Kravitz nodded slightly in thanks as he stepped inside with the three boxes of pizza carefully stacked.   
"I would personally prefer eating at a table."

Taako had made himself impossibly heavy and Lup had to poke her fingers into his most ticklish spots to get him to yelp and flail off her lap. They scuffled briefly, falling in a tangle on the floor, before Lup stood up. Wincing, she held a hand out to pull Taako up and walked into the kitchen.    
  
“I can’t get any sweatier or greasier, but maybe I shouldn’t test that. I  _ guess _ .”  She pulled the giant bag of paper plates they’d been using out of its cupboard and the half jug of lemonade they had left,  “C’mon babe, you’ll feel better being upright with food in you.  _ Fuck _ we didn’t even get it the  _ wards.... _ ”   
  
Taako groaned and slumped into a chair, “don’t even... I don’t wanna think about that. Let’s just  _ leave _ it for tomorrow? You’ve gone this long....”


	6. Lup Does A Hit

  
The next morning around sunrise, Lup's phone buzzed twice, each with a text from Kravitz.   
_ They're on their way. _ and then a few minutes later  _ I should specify that by 'they', I mean one of my coworkers. Lillian is excitable but quite competent and more than capable of getting you to the facility safely. _   
  
Within twenty minutes of that initial message, a black SUV with tinted windows and a conspicuous lack of license plates pulled silently up the driveway and parked in front of the house. A young human woman in her mid twenties stepped out wearing a dark suit and looking at her cellphone while she waited.   
  
Barry was already up, had been up for hours, but he was in the craft room on the back of the house spending his early morning hours working on a model he'd left unfinished fifty years ago and was very keen on finishing now that he'd found out he could order the glue he needed online. So he didn't notice a thing.

Lup had been up alongside Barry, sorting laundry to take into town that day and writing down a list of ‘Shit For The House’ that Barry could look at and check off when her phone buzzed.    
  
The meaning of it took a few seconds to sink in, and then her ears were high and quivering and her eyes dilated dark. After a few calming breaths, she nonchalantly changed into some jeans that  _ weren’t _ torn, and a pink, white, and blue crop top.    
  
Leaning into Barry’s work room, she smiled at the picture he made, light filling this room that really was all his own, focused intently over his work, “Heading into town, Bear, I’m gonna be a few hours.”

Barry smiled at her and set down what he was working on to get up and give her a quick hug and kiss.

"Alright. If you text when you're on the way back, I can definitely make sandwiches."   
  
When Lup got outside, the young woman smiled.    
"I don't know what Kravitz pulled to swing this but you are literally the first civvie I've ever known to get permission to go to HQ, so don't be surprised if you have to sign a whole lot of bullshit when you get there." Pause. "I'm Lily. Lemme know if you've got any questions and I'll probably tell you I can't answer them, honestly."

“Cool,” Lup hopped in the passenger seat, ears jangling with slightly more earrings than usual, “the only thing I care about is asking what Kravitz  _ is _ , and it’s more fun not knowing, honestly.”

"Classified."   
  
Lily put the SUV into reverse and pulled out onto the road. Then she pressed a button on the dash and the windows seemed to darken as she threw on a pair of glasses.   
  
"I promise I can see where I'm going, but we can't have  _ you _ knowing where HQ is. It would be messy. I'd have to make all those 'and now I have to kill you' jokes and we'd laugh and then I'd be like 'no, see, that wasn't a joke' and really, that's just no fun for anyone."

“That’s fine, my phone’s gonna stop working, right?” The coiling rage in Lup’s chest receded enough for her to wonder if she should be worried... but no. She trusted Kravitz, and even if she didn’t, she trusted he loved Taako enough not to pull anything on her.   
  
"Yup. Should've already, actually. Can't have some  _ other _ less secure secret organization tracking you, now can we?"   
  
Lily took a few turns and then accelerated, presumably getting on a highway. Probably. Lup let the silence stretched before tossing a glance her.

“So... how does one GET a gig like this? Is it recruitment only?”   
  
"Yeah, pretty much. Top secret recruitment process. I can't even tell you how it starts. But let me tell you, it's a wild ride."   
  
After a short while, she pulled into a parking space and clicked the security screens back off the windows.   
  
"Welcome to our top secret parking garage." Then she handed Lup a badge that said GUEST across it in bright red letters and had some sort of complex geometric symbols on the back. "Basically, the back lets them know Kravitz is vouching for you and that I'm your escort until I get you to the boss. Any questions?"

Lup put the badge on, left ear flicking as the dragon cuff wrapped around it started warming,    
  
“Yeah, what’s your warding sitch like? -yeah yeah  _ classified _ ” she waved a hand, “but I’ve got charms on some of this jangle and if I have to take it off, I should do that NOW....”

"If anything you've got is offensive, take it off now and leave it in the glovebox. Offensive charms get... let's go with  _ neutralized. _ That's a nice word, I think. Neutralized. There's only a few flavors of magic we  _ don't _ ward against her but... I can't tell you what those are. I  _ can _ tell you that we're so warded against necromancy and evocation that it’s silly."

Lup tapped her finger across a few earrings, frowning, “Uuuuh, Nah, defensive only, offensive get tetchy too easily.” Warding against evocation explained why her dragon was getting hotter. Sighing, she took it off and put it in the glove box. It was such an impressive looking one, too. 

“Alright, should be good.”

"And off we go."   
  
Lily opened her own door and stepped out into the parking garage. The entire thing was filled with the same kind of black SUV in this area, though further down were clearly normal cars the operatives employed here used to drive to and from work every day. They were somehow camouflaged though, magically made to look indistinct and unidentifiable. She adjusted her tie and waited for Lup to join her before heading towards an elevator.   
  
"You've only got clearance to enter the containment level and I'm sure you understand that we'll have all the other cells blacked out so you can't see what we're containing. Director Raven will be waiting for you there before you actually go speak with the prisoner. She's got some... rules for you."

“That’s fair,” as the elevator doors closed, Lup’s ears flicked up and trembled slightly, the feeling of wards trailing over her,  _ looking _ at her was.... disconcerting. Wards were passive things that pushed back against unwanted things and pinged their makers about unknown things.    
  
_ These _ wards took notes and  _ remembered _ . It was fucking creepy.    
  
She shoved her hands into her pockets and focused on lowering her ears to a neutral position and keep them there.    
  
The elevator ride was unnervingly long, and Lup couldn’t help but count seconds to see if she could tell how far underground they were, but gave up after two minutes. More secret things.

A few minutes later, they stepped out into a dimly lit corridor and Lily adjusted something on her glasses.   
  
“Third door on the left and nowhere else. She’s waiting for you.”   
  
She stopped there, watching Lup proceed the rest of the way.

Lup gave Lily her most dazzling smile, “Thanks so much!”    
  
Walking down the hall was like pushing through cotton wool, slightly damp and very muffled. She felt spells for dampening fire magic sliding across her arms, and sound muffling  _ everywhere. _ When she reached the door, she took in a breath that felt like the worst humidity she had ever experienced and turned the knob. Plastering a confident smile on her face, she determinedly kept her ears UP and FORWARD.

Inside, seated behind a table and reading through a folder of documents that she closed as the door opened was an ethereally indescribable woman with dark hair and eyes and giving off a strong impression of Other. She looked up at Lup and gestures at the empty seat opposite her.   
  
“So, how is life with the unliving treating you, Lup?”

Lup hesitated before sitting in the chair properly, instead of spinning it around as her initial instinct prompted her.    
  
Too much TNG and Riker, that was it.    
  
“The unliving part is fine, it’s life that keeps throwing curve balls,”    
  
She was reassessing her impression of a Kravitz  _ again _ . If he dealt with this woman every day, he was way more of a badass than she had given him credit for.

"It is my understanding that it very much enjoys doing that."   
  
She opened her folder again and set a document in front of Lup. It was a heavily redacted log of some kind and the last line had Lup's name already filled in.   
  
"Now then, understand that I am willing to allow you to speak with the prisoner but any use of magic while in there will not be tolerated, as will any harm coming to my prisoner. He is... a complicated situation I would rather not get into at this precise moment but I trust that you already understand at least some of the situation at hand." She set a pen down. "If you can agree to that, then simply sign here. I promise there is no magic involved, this is simply a ledger so I can keep track of who visits my prisoners."

Lup swallowed and picked up the pen; the impulsive question to Kravitz had been made on a tide of cold fury and visions of wrecking Edward’s  _ entire _ shop. Being here in this magic dampened subterranean secret base had just about pushed any desire to scream and yell into the face of someone she was  _ done _ with, personally.    
  
The look on Barry’s face when he saw Kravitz picking up a jar of his own blood came back to her with startling clarity, and she signed her name.    
  
“For real though, not even like.... one broken rib?”    
She catches the look on the woman’s face and backtracks instantly, “-only joking, super chill here, keeping my hands and feet inside the ride at all times. Got it.”

"Not even a single broken rib. Though..." For just a moment, her elegant, ethereal mask broke and she smiled. "I did rather enjoy the state of him when he first arrived. Your boyfriend's work, I'm told. He has quite the right hook."

Lup beamed at her, “my man’s got some hidden depths for  _ sure _ .”    
  
She took the ledger back and tucked it into her folder before pushing a button on the underside of the table.    
  
"He will be escorted in momentarily. For your safety, stay on that side of the table."

Director Raven nodded and then left, leaving Lup momentarily alone.  
Leaning back in her chair, Lup took the moment to compose herself, rearrange her features, and to wish she had grabbed her jacket to put over the small bit of fabric that pretended it was a shirt.

Then a door opened in the wall opposite her where no door had been moments before and an individual in that same dark suit with a mask that seemed both protective and as though it was meant to conceal their identity shoved Edward down into the chair and secured his handcuffs to the table in plain sight. Then that individual left through the same door.    
  
Three months of confinement had done Edward no favors. He was pale and thin, though he still had the same attractive face. His hair was longer and starting to curl at the ends. He looked Lup over and then smiled slowly.   
  
"To what do I owe the pleasure of company?"

Lup eyed him, taking in the changes, and let the silence after his question stretch before smiling easily,    
“Oh gloating mostly. I’m deffo gloating over you getting your ass beat and thrown in here, because I’m a petty fucking bitch.”   
  
She tilted her head and ears as if just remembering, “but I was gonna just let being thrown in magic jail be enough until we cleaned out the basement yesterday and just-“ she shook her head, sadly, “-just got reminded of what a  _ huge fucking asshole _ you are. So I figured I’d say it to your face.”

"Oh?" Edward leaned back casually, not seeming bothered by the fact that his arms were stretched out in front of him by the cuffs. "And what of mine did you find? There are quite a few options. I think I left a shirt there."    
  
There's something about his tone that said he knew  _ exactly _ what they found and he was enjoying this... this twisted game they were playing now.    
  
"Of course, it's terribly out of fashion now. Honestly, why we ever thought paisley looked good on  _ anyone, _ I will never know."

Lup’s grin became distinctly more teeth, “Nah, nothing at all that belonged you, past or present.”    
She tilted her head back, deliberately looking past him, “-which is great, considering how careless you are with... _ all _ your things”  
  
"I assure you, there are quite a few things in that house which are  _ mine. _ You may think you're something special, little girl, but I was here first and I'll always be here."   
  
He smiled wide, showing teeth.    
"How do you know he's even telling you the truth? We all know how  _ shaky _ a ghost's memories can get over the years. What did he even tell you happened, hmmm?"

“Oooh!” Lup’s ears flicked up and her eyes sharpened as she leaned forward, elbows on the table, chin in hands,    
“Gaslighting! Awesome, perfect angle, please continue telling me about how my boyfriend whomst you did a murder on is  _ definitely _ the one I shouldn’t trust here.  I’m  _ all _ ears!”    
  
She twitched them for reference.

_ "Murder? _ Is that what he's calling it?"    
  
Edward tried to raise a hand and the chain of the cuffs went tight, pulling him back down. He looked Lup over again and shook his head in his hands.   
  
"I'm going to  _ assume _ you don't know the ins and outs of necromancy, but I will assume you've noticed that he's  _ human, _ right? Humans aren't like  _ us. _ They're... so short lived and I'd known him for ten years already. That's practically a summer fling for one of us but an unbelievably long time in the mind of a human. So maybe I wanted to fix that. Lydia and I were already planning how to live forever, so why not include him too?"   
  
He sighed a little, ears flicking down.   
  
"I imagine he doesn't remember talking about it, about how we explained what it would entail, how we would anchor him. He was supposed to have forever  _ with us. _ The spell went wrong, I'm afraid to say. I truly hadn't even thought he was still there."

Lup nodded slowly, as if thinking, “Yeah.... yeah, that’s  _ very _ good....man, if I hadn’t seen you try to tear his actual being to pieces to keep leaching off his magic, I might have believed you,”    
She sighed in faux disappointment, “plus the whole ‘walking away and leaving him alone’ for half a century.....”    
She frowned, “.....oh yeah.  _ And _ I have three PhD’s in evocation, transmutation, and runic sigils.....”   
  
She stuck her tongue out at him, “I take it back, it was a shitty angle and you should feel ashamed of trying.”

Edward chuckled quietly and his eyes flicked down to her shirt.   
"I'll just bet you do, little girl. Transmutation, you say? Interesting choice."

Lup flopped back in her chair, head hanging limp, “oh my  _ gods _ , that was low hanging fruit, even beneath YOU. It’s just  _ lazy _ .”   
  
Edward waved this off, leaning forward now, a curious look on his face.   
  
"I have to say, my compliments on finding a way to get him solid. I'm  _ very _ curious to see how that device he's wearing works. I'm guessing it works on a fairly similar principle to something I was toying with. How effective is it? Does he just  _ seem _ to be physical or does he actually have biological functions?"   
  
Lup’s ears flipped up at his question and she brought her elbows back to rest on the table, tapping a rhythm, “....yeah, about that....”    
  
She leaned forward, closing the gap between them,    
“All those years and you couldn’t give the man a proper blow job?  _ Edward _ …” She clicked her tongue in disapproval. “They can take your gay card  _ away _ for that, y’know.”   


For just a moment, Edward's polished mask vanished and he looked  _ angry. _ Then he regained control of himself, giving her an almost friendly smile.   
  
"If you're interested, I could tell you some of the other things he's  _ very _ into. I have quite a bit of experience in that particular arena after all. I wonder, does he still have the nice leather cuffs I got him or has he gone back to the metal ones he had before me? He always did like  __ being used."  
  
“ _ Ooof, _ oofa  _ doofa _ , you’re battin’ zero for three on ‘safe, sane, consensual’ aintcha?”    
Lup shook her head again, disgustedly flicking her ears, “face it, Eddie, you  _ lost _ . And what’s more- ....Do you even  __ realize what you lost? Did you even begin to understand what you HAD in him?”

Edward looked at his nails and rolled his eyes.   
  
"I wasn't being facetious. Barry actually does enjoy that. Quite a bit. The man is a born sub.  _ Maybe _ a service top. We tried a collar for a little while and he certainly liked it but... Ah well, can't exactly do that sort of thing when he's  _ already _ got asthma. He managed to convince himself he was having an attack when it was just the collar." Edward seemed to consider for a moment. "Of course, if he's  _ dead, _ then I suppose he's probably not still asthmatic. Does he even need to breathe now? I can think of some  _ interesting _ uses for that."

Lup shrugged, suddenly very tired, “Not super into you giving me tips when you’re the worst sorta dom there is.”    
  
Her mouth twisted, “he loved you and gave you everything he had and was willing to do it for his whole, short life, and you trashed that for....what? Surviving to the heat death of the universe?”    
  
She folded her hands, feeling the wards pressing down on her as they suddenly wanted to heat,    
  
“He’s  _ mine _ now. You’ll rot here and you’ve accidentally given him decades of living life and being  _ happy _ . Is that something you even considered he should be? Even for the most  _ selfish _ reason of he wants to please  _ so much more _ when he’s happy? Gods, you missed out. You’ve made it so that I don’t have to worry about humans and their shitty lifespans. I get him for _ ever _ , and it’s all thanks to you being so  _ stupid _ as to think of him as a  _ thing _ .”  
  
Edward's smile grew wider and he started to laugh, his head going back.   
  
"Don't tell me you think I didn't notice. I could feel your hooks in him just the same as mine. Don't tell me you haven't considered all that power in there. With that much raw energy, decades of untrained, untapped power, you could be a  _ god _ among mortals. Don't tell me you haven't considered it."   
  
The chair scraped on the floor as he pulled himself as far forward as he could, leaning heavily on the table. He raised an eyebrow at her and grinned wickedly.   
  
"You have, haven't you? And you have him now. Won the little game and everything, and now all that power is yours. So tell me, little girl, what makes you any different from me?"

Lup took a single second to compose an apology to Kravitz for making him look bad to his boss before snapping her hands into fists and bringing one up in a sharp uppercut. The other came down on his collarbone, slamming Edward into the table,    
Leaning over him, she whispered into his ear; “I  _ asked _ first. Amazing what giving actual choices will do.”

Edward’s forehead slammed into the table, not trying to block her at all, not trying to keep his face from cracking against the metal. Somewhere in the facility, an alarm began to blare and there was the sound of running feet but Edward looked up, blood and a smile spreading across his face.   
  
"I commend you, you were harder to bait than I thought you'd be. But, you  _ did _ break eventually."   
  
Power began to build around Edward, slamming Lup backwards into the wall and holding her there. He stood then, suddenly no longer restrained.   
  
"So very clever, miss three doctorates, but not clever enough to realize that I'm a  _ blood mage." _   
  
He smiled at her for another long moment and then collapsed to the floor, a shadow rising out of him and vanishing from sight. The magic holding Lup against the wall faded. That was when operatives burst in through both doors with weapons drawn.

Lup stared at the spot Edward had been just a second before, licking at the cut on her lip, and scowling,    
  
“Well.....  _ shit _ .”   
  
As the doors banged open, she sighed and put her hands up, “Yeah..... that one’s on  _ me _ ......”

Kravitz lowered his weapon and groaned, pointing at the chair Edward had been in a moment before.   
"Lup, sit down. I need to... dammit, did you  _ kill him?" _

Lup wiped the blood off her lip and scowled, “Okay, as  _ awesome _ for my brand as that would be, NO I did not one punch KO him.”    
  
Slowly, she walked to the chair, eyeing the other operatives with weapons, “He used his blood to... I don’t know, yeet himself out of his body.”  


Kravitz pinched the bridge of his nose.   
  
“Raven is going to  _ end me.” _ He turned to the others. “Lock his body back in confinement. He’s not allowed to get that back. I need a forensics unit and... dammit, one of the phone passes. Lup, you’re going to need to tell Barry you’re going to be home late.”

“Shit,” Lup leaned forward and put her head in her hands, groaning, “I sure fucked that one up.”    
  
And her chest and face hurt on top of EVERYTHING.    
  
.....wait.    
  
She shot up in her seat, “Krav, is that phone pass a one call deal? Cause if so, I need to call Taako instead.”

“...Yes?” Kravitz looked at Lup for a moment and then realization dawned and he went to the door. “Make it  _ fast _ on that pass!”   
  
Kravitz dropped into the empty seat where Lup had been before.   
“Give me what happened as fast as you possibly can.”


	7. Chapter 7

Taako pulled up the drive, nerves thrumming like overtuned strings, and checked his bag for the fifth time as he trotted up the path,    
  
“YO BAROLD, you get my texts?”    
  
He didn’t bother knocking again as he walked in.

Taako received no response. The entire house was deathly quiet, as silent as the grave. The front hall closet was thrown open, things scattered across the room. A flashlight lay on the floor beside a shattered frame holding one of the few pictures Barry and Lup had managed to take together where he wasn’t completely blurry.    
  
After a moment, Barry appeared at the top of the stairs, visibly shaken but still there, still solid.   
“Taako? What... what the  _ fuck _ happened? Edward- He was here? And a ghost?”

 

Taako’s grip on his wand loosened marginally as he saw Barry, ears flared low as he looked over the mess,    
  
“Uuuh, Lup said, and I’m quoting here; ‘Taako, I fucked up and punched him, it was fucking sweet, but then he used his blood to yeet out of his body, and we forgot the wards.’ End quote.”

  
“Well, he stole the older harness while I was hiding and...” Barry came down the stairs slowly, still looking around like he expected Edward to reappear. “Taako, can your wards keep him out if he’s got his magic? I... don’t actually know how they work.”   
  
Then he stopped and picked up the picture, carefully taking it out of the broken frame.   
  
"He came up out of the basement. And just... I was in the kitchen washing some dishes and... and he just said  _ hi _ like he fucking belongs here and kept going and...  and all I could think about was  _ last time _ and I can't do this again. I really can't."

 

“I’m totally there with you, broseph,” Taako puts his wand back slowly, digging in his bag for the obsidian he had stored there, “and I wish I could give you a straight answer vis a vie warding but uh, until Lup gets here, I don’t really know. Gonna put some up anyway so we could have warning regardless.”    
He gave Barry a look that was probably attempting to be nonchalant, if his ears hadn’t been flat with panic, “Good thing is he’s probably not coming back for a while if he’s distracted with the harness and all.”

 

Barry nodded. "Yeah... yeah... Can I help with that or is that more of a Taako show? I mean... I know I don't know what I'm doing but Lup could use my magic when she was doing something to the wards at your old place. Think you can too?"   
  
His gaze flicked around the room, taking in the whole scene, and he sighed, "If you can't and I can't help, then I'm gonna clean all this up."   
He picked an awful lime green paisley shirt up up from where it had been hung from a doorknob and held it up.   
"I don't even know what this is doing here. It's not mine."

 

Taako looked at the shirt in disgust, running his thumb over the smooth obsidian circle, “Sure as hell ain’t  _ mine _ , that can’t even be worn ironically.”    
  
Focusing on Barry, he tossed the stone from one hand to another,    
  
“Right yeah so, we can, can do this one of two ways,” leaning forward he tapped Barry’s chest, “you toss me some of your power, and I funnel it it with  _ mine _ into the ward set up. You’ve been practicing how to cut it off, yeah?”

 

"Yeah, I've been practicing..."    
  
He didn't mention that it hadn't been going exactly great. He didn't mention that it still hurt when he did it. It had been since their last fight with Edward. Davenport knew. He'd been trying to help Barry through it and his best guess was that ripping Edward's hooks out of him the way he'd done it had torn something in his magic. Which was a wild and slightly terrifying thing to think about but it was a thing and he was dealing with it.   
"Works most of the time, even."

 

“Cool cool, coolcoolcool, the  _ other _ way....” Taako hesitated slightly and forged on, keeping his face cheerful, “The  _ other _ way is, you grab some things of yours to use as a temp anchor, capeesh? We can make ‘em more permanent later, carve spell circles in ‘em  _ et cetera- _ ”    
  
He pulled  out a piece of chalk and ran it along his fingers, “I’ll make the spell circles and you push your magic in yourself alongside mine. We’re gonna need one at the opposite end of the house from the basement, one in the attic and the basement is where we do the do.    
  
What you’re looking for is things you know by touch and memory, you work along emotion, soooo...” Taako shrugged, “you anchoring yourself and protecting this house is gonna be, uh, a  _ fuckload _ more effective than me just  using ya as a battery.”

 

Barry stared at Taako for a long moment and then pushed his glasses back up.   
  
"Are you telling me I can anchor wards on model rockets because... because that is exactly what that sounded like." He turned to head back up the stairs, considering the things in his craft room. "Like... I've got a Mercury and a Gemini that I could probably recreate whole cloth if I had to."   
  
He stopped about halfway up the stairs to look back at Taako.   
  
"Unless uh... unless you meant something more uh... less plastic. Because I've probably got something else that would work too..."

 

Taako cackled and shook his head, “Nah go for it, you should see some of the stuff  _ we’ve _ used over the years,”    
  
Striding to the farthest wall of the living room, he bent down to start tracing a circle, leaving room in the runes for where Barry would have to trace some himself.

 

A few minutes later, Barry came down the stairs with two reasonably sized model rockets in his hands.   
"I only need two, right?" Then he paused. "I should also warn you, I have no idea what the state of the attic is. Haven't been in there since..."    
  
He trailed off. He'd never used the attic. He hadn't liked it as a kid but would help his mother get boxes down if she asked him to. He hadn't liked it any better when he was older. And when she'd died? He'd only done a very cursory 'put some stuff in the attic for safekeeping' and kept everything else right where it was. He hated the attic and its dark corners and single flickering light with a passion he really couldn't fully articulate.

 

Taako waved a hand dismissively, “we just need a clear space for the circle, if we have to shove shit around, I’m sure you can lift things, you’re a big boy. Gotta have a place to tell the ward to over, you feel?”    
Straightening, he held out a hand for one of the rockets, gesturing to a spot next to his obsidian piece, “pop that bad boy right here. Then copy  _ these _ lines into  _ that _ space.”

 

Barry set the Gemini down and took the chalk, carefully copying runes. He went slowly, making sure the markings were as precise as possible. He didn't know what they meant yet, didn't really think of them as individual symbols yet, so he was copying each stroke of each line just the way Taako had drawn it. After while seemed like ages, he looked up, "How'd I do?"

 

Taako ran a hand under the lines twice, doubling checking, “Solid B plus, m’man. Here; redo this one and we’re golden.”    
  
Once it was finished, he nodded and headed for the stairs,    
  
“Attic circle next, then we should, uh, should grab some rocks and shit from outside for the basement anchor.”

 

"Rocks and... What makes the basement different? I've got more rockets and stuff if that works..."   
  
Barry tried to think through the basic principles of magic he'd been learning and snapped.   
  
"Or does it need to be something from outside because it's the boundary of the ward closer to the earth?"

 

“YuuuuPP! Give the man in the jeans a prize; plus since we’re throwing the wards UP from that one, we want something local to tell the ground its protected by stuff it knows.”    
  
He reached a hand up to grab the string for the attic, hopping out of the way as the ladder fell with a clatter., “Jeez, warn a guy....”

 

Barry looked up into the darkness of the attic for a long moment.   
"There's no light switch. It uh... it's a pull. In the attic. And the light doesn't always work..."   
  
Then he started up the ladder, trying to remember how many steps it was from the top of the ladder to the light pull. He was pretty sure it had been ten when he was a boy. It would be less now, right? Because he was taller?

 

Taako’s ears flicked down briefly and he reached into his bag for a charm light,    
“Yeaaah.... fuck that.”    
  
He followed Barry slowly, holding up his light high above him, chewing his lip distractedly.

 

When the light started to fill the space, Barry relaxed, "You guys have to teach me how to do that..." he muttered as he started to look around.    
  
The attic was still the same mess he last remembered, with boxes and stowed furniture. There was an old wooden crib tucked along one wall and a dress form covered in a sheet stood nearby. There were boxes and boxes of old photos and schoolwork and a table that looked like it needed repairs sat propped on its side. Barry shoved aside a box that read "college things" across it in his handwriting and stepped into the attic proper.    
  
"I guess we can just pick a spot. There's... sort of a lot of old stuff up here..."

 

Taako picked his way around boxes labeled 'Candlenights' and glanced around the dimly lit parts of the crowded attic,   
"Jeezy creezy, you weren't kidding, my dude..."   
  
Shaking his head, he pushed his way past an old gramophone and pointed at spot by the farthest wall, "If we shove that table over, we could do it there."

 

"Yeah, that... that absolutely works. Maybe even put it under some of this furniture so it like... doesn't get moved?"   
  
He picked up a coffee mug sitting on the floor and frowned at it, as though trying to place why on earth there was a coffee mug on the floor in the attic he didn't use. ( "You say bitch like it's a bad thing" reads the mug ) Then he set it back down and started shoving the old table aside.

 

Taako glanced around the dusty, untouched attic,   
  
"Barold, I don't know how to break this to you, but I  _ don't _ think that's going to, uh, to be a real big issue.”

 

Barry looked around the room and then sighed, "You're... probably right."   
  
He knelt down as well, studying the circle as Taako drew it, trying to see what he'd done differently so he could do it better this time.

 

Taako slowed down his writing just a little, not enough to have it pointed out he DID that, but made it more obvious when one rune stopped and another started, and how they flowed one into the other.   
Once he finished, he handed the chalk to Barry and set his obsidian in its designated place.    
"Let's get this part done and go get the stuff outside, ch'boy is getting asthma just being up here."

 

"Yeah yeah, going as fast as I can and still get it right..."   
  
Barry grumbled a little but he was certainly writing faster as he tried to copy Taako's runes. They were neater this time and it looked more like he was starting to see the individual shapes for what they were.    
  
"Better than a B plus that time? Am I into A minus territory?"

 

Taako clapped a hand on his shoulder when he was done, only a LITTLE condescendingly,   
"Well, you didn't swap 'house' for 'horse' and summon in an entire dressage team, so you're doing okay there."

 

"Holy shit, that sounds like a story. Was that you or Lup? I'm betting you."

 

"I'm not on  _ trial _ here, I don't owe you answers,"

 

"It was  _ definitely _ you then. I'll ask Lup later."

  
Barry stood up and stretched, trying to work out the kink in his back that always seemed to hate it when he knelt down like that too much. There was a pop and he sighed, smiling.    
  
"Okay, let's get the  _ fuck _ out of the attic."

Taako stepped over the Candlenights' boxes and started down the ladder, holding his light high so Barry could still see,   
  
"Deffo for sure. Let's go find some pretty rocks."   
  
Barry scaled down the ladder and headed towards the kitchen door and the backyard. His heart fell when he saw the kitchen. He hadn't realized Edward had trashed that too. There were three mugs sitting on the counter that Barry instantly recognized, two with rockets and the third with a math equation across it. They had been gifts long ago and now they were sitting stacked in a pyramid next to the shattered remains of his brand new star trek mug from a recent trip to the mall. The message couldn't have been any more clear.

 

Taako's ears pinned back, his mouth twisting into a sneer at the mugs,   
  
"No one likes a sore fuckin' loser."   
  
Picking up the handle and two of the biggest pieces, he stuck the tip of his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he slowly ran his thumbs over the seams. Slowly, the pieces left on the counter drifted up and attached themselves, pressing back into shape. When he set the mug back on the counter it was whole, no cracks or seams to show it had ever been broken.   
  
"Shiny rocks! Let's go, let's GO!"

 

Barry nodded and headed towards the yard, trying to ignore the anger fizzing under his skin.   
  
"What sort of rocks am I looking for? Just... anything? Or like... a specific kind?"   
  
The yard was, thankfully, just as they'd left it. He'd been working on turning the ashes from the shed's pyre under into a nice compost area along with their kitchen scraps and Lup had been starting to work on planting new, non-awful shrubs. He'd even dragged the picnic table out and started working on repainting it so they could actually use it.

 

"Regular quartz, maybe sandstone, 'bout the size of your palm is best. It's just gotta  _ know _ the area, right?"   
Taako walked the opposite direction of Barry, glancing along the base of the house, scuffing at the dirt occasionally with his foot, and calling over his shoulder; "Get a bunch and we'll pick the best ones!"

 

"Okay... so... what if I don't know how to  _ identify _ sandstone?"   
  
Barry had found a few small pieces of rose quartz but nothing the size Taako was talking about. He started heading towards the rock wall on the back of the property. Maybe there would be something back there.

 

"Usually red, my dude," Taako came around the furthest side of the house, holding an egg shaped black stone, a chunk of gray quartz, and, yes, a red streaked piece of sandstone.   
  
"Here, hold this one," he tossed the round black stone to Barry and walked to the door, "How's it feel?"

 

Barry caught it and closed his eyes, trying to figure out if he could feel anything in it. It was... heavy and comfortable. It felt familiar. It felt like home.   
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I like this one."   
  
He had only found one reasonably sized stone that  _ might _ be what they were looking for, but he left it behind upon realizing it definitely wasn't what they were looking for. As they walked towards the house, he considered the stone in his hand and then grinned.   
  
"Ever tried using a moon rock as a ward anchor? Like, for the top of the ward?"

 

Taako nodded and tossed the other two stones next to the back door as they walked in, " _ Shit _ man, if I could even  _ look _ at the stuff that got brought back, I'd be happy. Maybe some of the dust they bring back from the space station."   
  
He sighed wistfully as he picked up his bag and glowered at the basement door,   
"Right. Kravitz, uhhh, Krav did another cleanse on the basement yesterday, but if that asshole came through it, we should check the corners for  _ yet another _ thing he left behind."

 

Barry groaned, the sound turning into a frustrated growl.   
  
"I am going to find him and I am going to kick his ass so hard he can't fucking come back from it this time. I am going to-" He paused for half a second, trying to remember the word Lup had used that he was so enamored with. "Yeet. I am going to  _ yeet _ his ass into the fucking  _ Kuiper Belt." _

 

Taako choked, coughed, turned pink, and grabbed a chair as he started laughing so hard he stopped making sound,   
  
"Holy.... _ yes _ , for  _ sure _ , I'm backing you up on that one,  _ fuck- _ "   
  
Wheezing, he wiped his eyes and took a shaky step to the basement door,    
  
"Time to make sure this bitch empty..."

 

Barry pulled the door open and gestured for Taako to go first. When got down into the basement, Barry stopped, his eyes wide and he turned to walk back up the stairs, rolling his sleeves up as he went.   
  
"No. Nope, I'm going to go find him and kick his  _ entire ass _ right now."   
  
Shattered on the floor was the wooden box that hung on the wall over the workbench, the bladed tools that had been in it jammed into the wood of the bench. The intricately carved side, where the letters had been, was specifically and deliberately smashed and burned.

 

Taako's ears were flat as he reached out to grab Barry's arm, "Slow your roll, Barrence,  _ not _ that he deffo doesn't deserve it. But, uh, but if you actually  _ have _ an idea of where he'd be holed up, you should let me know so I can text Krav...."   
He paused, winced, and pulled his phone out, "......Like he should know about the harness, and uh, and I  _ certainly _ did not just think of that right now, for  _ sure _ ...."

 

"I..." Barry's shoulders slumped. "I have no idea where he would be. Not any more."   
  
Then he looked down again.   
  
"I just... He  _ knows, _ dammit. He knows how important this... this..."   
  
Barry was struggling to get words out beyond his rising fury. An awl jammed into the table suddenly pulled itself free and shot across the room, jamming itself an inch deep into the concrete of the basement wall.

 

Taako jumped, nearly dropping his phone, " _ Shit- _ okay yeah, no doubt, he's a petty ass bitch,  _ listen _ -"   
He hit send and put a tentative hand out, "Look.....we gotta, uh, we gotta fix it so he can't get in here without us  _ knowing _ , right? So, uh, so maybe cool it with the spooky ghost shit, and try more the awesome wizard shit?"

 

Taking a few deep breaths, Barry nodded, "When... when we finish, can you fix that? I would try but... I don't want to screw it up and..."   
He was already looking around the basement, trying to confirm there was no other damage there. Then he smiled just a tiny bit at the awl embedded in the wall.   
  
"Leave that in the wall, though. I uh... I kind of want to impress Lup. Long story. Butter knives. There's a whole thing."

 

Taako rolled his eyes hugely even as he gave Barry a quick side hug, “Don’t bring  _ me _ into your kinky nerd shit, yeah sure I’ll figure something out, can we  _ do _ this?”

 

"It's not a... Nevermind. Yeah, let's do this. Does uh... do you think we should put it like... up somewhere? Lup's talking about carpeting the basement and uh.... And the less we have to move it around the better, right?"   
  
He couldn't remember if that was actually something he'd read or not. He was really starting to think he was going to need to go pick up some more books on the topic than what they already had. Maybe devote some time to actual study and-   
  
Focus on the task at hand. Right. He fiddled with the stone in his hand, waiting to see what Taako said.

 

Taako clicked his tongue in thought, then shrugged, “If she wants to do that, we’ll redo ‘em then and she can figure it out. I’m not trying to stick these in a wall or something on ‘probably maybe in the future.’”   
  
His ears twitched as he oriented himself at the corner of the basement opposite their other circles and started drawing,    
  
“Right, this one is gonna look a bit different, ‘cause it needs a spot for us, see? The other two were anchors, they’re gonna call the other side of the wards to themselves and make, uh, make a, uh, bubble. Yeah, bubble’s a good way to think about it. I’m sitting  _ here _ , you’re sitting  _ here _ , we’re gonna want that stone in the center, and the rest of my obsidian around.”    
He handed the chalk over, “got that?”

 

"Sure?"   
  
If there was one thing in this world Barry hated more than anything else, it was feeling like an idiot, and so far cellphones and magic had him feeling that way on a pretty much daily basis. He had a pretty alright grasp of what Taako was saying but he needed to see it before it would really sink in and it was frustrating.

 

Taako looked at him out of the corner of his eye as Barry started to copy his runes,    
  
“Let’s, huh, lets keep going with that bubble metaphor,”    
  
He gestured at the circle, “you ever do big soap bubbles? Stick a wire circle in a pan of soap and water and try to make the really big shit? So this is the wire circle and our magic is, uh, is the soapy water. We put those anchors in the other parts of the house so it won’t get so big it pops.”

 

"Yeah, every summer. Loved that shit. I uh... I used to try to catch them." Then Barry smiled. "That.... that actually makes sense. Like... force field emitter points on Enterprise. Or maybe more like the defensive shielding..."   
  
For a long moment, he was silent and then he laughed a little awkwardly.   
"You know, I already get this shit to work using physics. Think I can use scifi physics too?"

 

Taako shrugged and started placing his obsidian,    
“Whatever works, really. It’s cool knowing why magic does the things it does and the physics behind it, but really? Magic is taking the, uuuh, the energy of the universe and making you do what you want. How you visualize it shapes what you do. It’s why we test kids for it so much, kids don’t know there’s supposed to be rules so they do shit that breaks them.”    
  
Finishing, he sat, tailor style, and put his hands into the circle left for that purpose,    
“Let’s blow some bubbles, c’mon.”

 

Barry sat as well and copied Taako, setting the rocket down in his circle. Then he started focusing on channeling his power out and into the spell. Just like blowing a bubble. Just like setting the defensive shields on the Enterprise. Just like the protection spells in the Young Wizards books. Had to make sure it got all the way and didn't go too far and wasn't weak anywhere. But spheres were already good at that. That's how they worked. He was grinning as the magic settled into place, ridiculously proud of himself.

 

From Taako’s perspective, he went from channeling his power expecting to need to tug Barry along as a guide, to feeling himself buoyed up and out by a rush of fizzing  _ determination _ .    
  
The anchors reached out in recognition and it was nearly all he could do to snap his part of the spell into place, creating a circular feedback loop that was self sustaining.    
  
As he opened his eyes, he wasn’t sure if he felt like he had been kicked in the chest or had just drank five Red Bulls,    
  
“Y-y _ up _ , that’s, hh, that’s how you set a ward.....”

 

Barry stood up slowly, bracing himself against the wall.    
"It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd- What happened to your hair? You look like you got struck by lightning, Taako."   
  
Barry reached up and realized his own curls were poofed out as well, "Huh... is that normal?"

 

Taako raised his hands to his hair and looked briefly annoyed,    
“I  _ just _ straightened this morning too-“ groaning, he shot Barry a look that would have been impressed if it hadn’t been annoyed. Which probably meant it was Taako  _ being _ impressed.    
  
“No idea, might be when  _ you’re _ the one powering shit. Come on, let’s see if I can’t fix that tool box before Lup comes back.”

 

"It's probably because my control's still not great..." Barry sighed a little. "Sorry, Taako. I'll work on that."   
  


“Dude, can’t you even  _ feel _ your wards? They went up perfect. Just gotta focus on keeping your, uh, your spillover low or whatever.” 

 

Barry grinned before he looked down at the toolbox and then away, "You really think you can fix it?"

  
Taako touched the box, his magic crackling down it, feeling for the last time it had been whole and solid, making it remember that and pushed it together. 

  
  
“ _ Please _ , I’m  _ Taako _ .”


	8. Lup Gets Railed

It was nearly five in the evening by the time a dark tinted SUV pulled up and let Lup and Kravitz out. Lup leaned against the gate as Kravitz finished the conversation he was having with his phone.    
  
As Lup opened the gate and walked up the path, the feeling of Taako’s crackling magic, familiar as her own, washed over her, followed by a firm push of Barry’s fizzing magic. She stopped, grinning, leaning into the feeling, her exhaustion lifting slightly as she was wrapped in a sense of  _ HOME. _

True to his word earlier in the day, Barry had made sandwiches. They weren't much and he was maybe a little heavy on the mustard but they were certainly sandwiches. He was sitting at the kitchen table when he heard the door open and for half a second, alarm bells went off in his head. Then he realized he could Feel who was coming through the web of the spell they'd set up and he got up to meet her in the living room.   
  
"Lup! I thought they were going to keep you forever."    
  
He hadn't gotten much done on cleaning up the mess from earlier, if he was being perfectly honest. He hadn't been able to work up the emotional energy. Between him and Taako, everything was repaired as least, and he'd hung the picture back on the wall, but there were still things scattered all over the living room. He looked around at all of that and then sighed a little.   
  
"I'm guess you know I had... an intruder."

Lup kept walking until she was close enough to throw her arms around Barry’s shoulders and bury her face into his neck,    
“Yeah I heard,” she clung tightly, trying desperately not to cry as she heard Kravitz’s footsteps on the porch, “I’m so fucking  _ sorry _ , Bear....”

Barry hugged her back, just as tightly, "S'not your fault. I don't care  _ how _ it happened. It's not  _ your _ fault. You couldn't have known." His voice was a low murmur. "Fuck, I didn't even know he could do that..."   
  
He rubbed her shoulders with one hand, trying to ease some of the tension there. When he spoke again, he was smiling a little and his tone was just a bit cajoling, "I made dinner."

Lup sniffed and pulled back, making a face,    
  
“No, I have been informed in no uncertain terms for  _ many _ hours that losing my temper was, in fact, my fault. Thoroughly. The actual blood mage escaping part less so maybe.”    
  
She looked over to the door where Taako was using Kravitz’s tie as a way to bridge the height gap and greeting him fondly.    
  
“You guys staying for dinner?”

"If they're not, I made too many sandwiches." Barry chuckled quietly and kissed Lup gently. "Let's go eat and I can clean all this up... later." He kissed her again. "Much later."

Taako pulled back from greeting Kravitz, drawing him into the house proper before coming over to hug Lup’s shoulders,    
  
“Yeah, for food, but we should get gone soon. You up to adding to the wards, Lulu?”    
  
She leaned against him, one arm moving from Barry’s shoulder to Taako’s waist, letting herself relax between them for a beat, before nodding slowly.    
  
“Let me eat and I’ll do that before you guys go.”   


* * *

Stepping into the basement again was odd, the lingering sense of unease stripped away as the back of the mind humming of wards washed across Lup’s skin. She grinned with ALL her teeth showing as she walked to the ward circle and put her hand down on Taako’s side. 

  
Normally she would twist their magic together, increasing the power exponentially in a way they’d been able to do since they were kids and holding each other’s hands with their first wands in the other. But this ward was  _ different _ ; humming together in a layered approach, Taako’s crackling magic buoyed up by Barry’s; like lightning over a sheet of carbonated ice. She just observed it for a few moments, letting the familiarity of both settle under her skin. They didn’t really want to  _ mix _ was the problem. Work together yes, but as a pair not as a unit.    
  
Clicking her tongue, she slowly expanded her awareness, passing through Barry’s layer to right below Taako’s, both powers skimming against hers comfortably.    
  
Well, that was good then.    
  
In her mental eye, she took a thread of Barry’s power and a line of Taako’s and after a brief thought, moved along the circumference of the ward, braiding them into her power as she went.    
She was grinning as she pulled back, the weariness of the day replaced with a surge of satisfaction at a job well done.

As soon as Taako and Kravitz had gone, Barry wrapped his arms around Lup and made a point of kissing one of the bruises still plain on her neck, "So, what'd you think of my first ward? I don't think I did half bad."

Lup leaned against Barry, letting her eyes drift shut as she felt his power run over her skin, “It was perfect, actually. Not a crack anywhere. Can you feel what I did with it?”

He closed his eyes, feeling along the ward carefully. Then his eyes snapped back open and he looked surprised.    
  
"Did you...weave it together? Or like... sew it? Like a... like a seam almost?"

Lup grinned, turning in his arms to kiss along his jaw,    
“Or a braid, yeah. That way if people try just smashing through it’ll be a lot harder having to deal with three kinds at once, not just one of us after another.”

"Brilliant, babe."    
  
He tightened his hug and then hummed quietly,"I can clean this mess up in the morning... How do you feel about uh..." He paused just long enough to give her his most shiteating grin. "About uh... Netflix and chill?"

Lup met his gaze for a brief moment, biting her lip as she tried to work up a retort, gave up and pressed her face into Barry’s neck as she laughed,    
  
“Holy  _ shit _ , gods and little fishes, that was  _ so bad _ , I love you-“    
  
Her giggles trailed off as she tugged him towards the stairs, trying to pass off the lump in her throat as trying not to laugh, “I dunno about you, babe, but I have just about zero chill left for today.”

He let himself be tugged with a laugh and a smile, "Picked that one up on the internet today. Can't say I  _ entirely _ understand the uh... origin of the phrase but uh... I liked the sentiment, you know? I just kept imagining trying to fuck while like... Picard negotiates with Ferengi in the background and I couldn't stop laughing."   
  
When they got to their bedroom, he pulled her in for another long kiss, holding her close. His tone was low and shaky when he spoke again, his joking tone gone.   
"When he showed up earlier, when I realized where you were and what must've happened... Lup, it scared the shit out of me. I thought... I thought..."

“I know, I know, I’m  _ so _ sorry-“ Lup cuts herself off, kissing him fiercely.    
“He was baiting me and I let myself be baited and he- when he left all I could think was you were by yourself and I wasn’t  _ that _ tired last night, I coulda set the wards up, I-  _ fuck- _ ”    
  
She buried her face in his chest, tears finally spilling over.

Barry held her tightly, rocking slightly.   
"Lup, it's... it's not... You couldn't have known that... Neither of us could have known that  _ any _ of this was going to happen." He kissed her forehead and cupped her cheek in one hand and wiped her tears away. "Come on, let’s lay down and cuddle and... and just pretend none of this matters for a while, alright?"

Lup nodded, sniffing again as she moved to the bed, swallowing the impulse to vent all the bile Edward had said and how  _ fucking wrong _ it was.    
_ tomorrow _ , she promised herself,  _ Ill look for a therapist tomorrow _ .    
  
Once she had been wrapped against Barry for a few minutes, she grinned slightly and managed to speak without choking, “I did ask Kravitz for a copy of the video that has me delivering a truly epic shoryu- ....uppercut to his face, so I can gif it. Krav made that face he does when he’s trying to be professional and I’m making it  _ super _ hard.”   


Barry was holding Lup close, running gentle fingers down her arms and over her back.   
  
"That sounds hilarious, honestly. Can uh... can I make a gif be a... a background on my phone? Is that a thing that can happen?" He turned to kiss her forehead. "You know, I don't actually know if I mean you punching Edward or Krav making that face."

She giggled, returning the gesture over Barry’s arm, “oh the punch, I can see Krav make that face any time he talks to me. And hell yeah we can set it as a lock screen for you, for  _ sure _ .”   
  
Lup could feel the energy from working with the wards start running under her skin, demanding to be used up some way, but any time she went to change the mood from ‘cuddle’ to ‘not cuddling’ Edward’s face as he leaned forward  _ ”he always did like _ being used” would rush to the forefront of her brain and she would go still in an attempt not to flinch.

Barry frowned a little and touched the tip of her nose.   
"You're all scrunched up, babe. What's wrong?" He'd noticed this particular expression of hers a few times, this particular flavor of upset. He knew enough to know it was nothing he did, but he didn't like that he didn't know the cause.

Lup blinked and fought to keep from hiding her face in Barry’s chest. Chewing her lip, she went back and forth over how to say  _ anything _ without giving specifics. Barry didn’t need to deal with that from  _ her _ .    
  
“Just.... some of the stuff he said got under my skin.... like, I mean,  _ obviously _ ,” she stretched her hand out which had a forming bruise on the index knuckle, “.....just some of it more than others...”

He caught her hand and kissed her knuckles.    
  
"Wanna talk about it?"

She squirmed, pushing her face into his chest anyway,    
  
“Yes....? No? Maybe not with you? I just-“ she blew a frustrated sigh,    
“Some of that shit is  _ personal _ and like.... I shouldn’t bring it up and force  _ you _ to talk about it, just cause your shitty ex was trying to... to  _ weaponize _ it against me...”

"And if it's bothering you then... then shouldn't we talk about it? I can at least like... set the record straight?" He paused. "Well... not straight. The record is very bisexual and sort of a disaster, if I'm being totally honest here."

That startled a laugh of Lup, "Oh  _ that's _ a mood, holy shit...."   
She quieted down again, ear pressed against his chest listening for the quiet and slow heartbeat that meant he was  _ calm _ and  _ happy _ .   
  
Inhaling, she tried to line up her thoughts in a calm and rational manner, or at least a sentence with the verbs and nouns in the right places;   
"....SO I called him out on being a shitty lay, cause  _ seriously _ , and it was the one thing that actually DID strike a whole bunch of nerves, but he brought up-" she inhaled again, not wanting to say EVERYTHING in one breath, for coherency,   
"-he brought up some of the kink shit you guys used to do, and he was so  _ smug _ about it, and it made me feel  _ greasy _ hearing him talk about you like.....like THAT, and I really hate him, Barry, I  _ hate _ him...."   
  
She cut off, breathing hard, face pushed against Barry's chest, ears pink, and not meeting his gaze.

Barry held her tighter, closing his eyes, "Oh... Yeah. That's uh... that's a  _ thing _ that happened, yeah. Fuck, babe, I'm sorry. I... Shit, I don't even know what to tell you. I... I'm sorry."

Lup's ears pinned back and she pushed off his chest to sit up and scowl down at Barry, "It's nothing to  _ apologize _ for! Hell, if  _ you _ brought it up before this, I'd be  _ down _ , just-"   
  
She ran her hands up over her hair and along her ears, tugging at them somewhat petulantly, "-I keep hearing his voice like he still gets to  _ own _ you, and it's....it's shitty, I don't like it, bummer of a mood killer...."

He sat up and reached for her hands.   
  
"Hey, hey, it's okay. He's not the one that's here and he's not the one I want very much to kiss right now and... Yeah, sure, stuff happened before but like... Lup, I'm  _ yours. _ Now and forever, as long as you want me. What he says doesn't fucking matter and... and he doesn't have any claim to me any more, no matter what bullshit he's spewing."   
  
By the end of it, his calm, reassuring tone had given way to anger and his jaw was clenched when he stopped talking.

Lup whined something in the back of her throat that might have been trying to be words before she was leaning forward to kiss Barry, open-mouthed and  _ wanting _ . His hands were still on hers and she didn't want to take them away even to pull him closer,   
  
" _ Please _ ," she whispered it against his mouth, " _ please _ say you're mine again...."

“I’m yours, Lup. All yours. Only yours.”   
  
The tense anger in him evaporated with her words and he returned that kiss with desperation in every line of him. He didn’t want to let go of her hands any more than she wanted him to, but he wanted her close to him and he whimpered into the next kiss.  
  
Lup pulled away at his whimper, eyes round and blown dark, “Okay, this is now a clothing free zone.”    
This required letting go of his hands, but bringing them up to kiss both his wrists before tugging away to pull her shirt off seemed a good compromise.

Barry pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it aside as smile played at his lips. Then he leaned in to steal another quick kiss.   
  
"Yes, ma'am~"   
  
Then he tugged at his belt, cursing softly as it didn't come undone right away. It was hard with the way his hands were shaking.

Lup had to shimmy out of her own jeans, growling slightly as the ability to cling to her ass suddenly seemed a lot less important than the ability to get them off quickly. Tossing her panties and bra on top of them on the floor, she scooted along the bed to Barry, tugging his pant leg helpfully.   


Barry laughed at that and finally managed to get his belt undone and pants unzipped. They came off easily then and his boxers followed, only to be unceremoniously dumped on the floor. That done, he reached to brush gentle fingers across her cheek.    
  
"Tell me what you want, babe."

“ _ Fuck _ , BABE, I-“ she leaned into his hand, running hands over his chest, playing under the harness straps, “I- how do  _ you _ want me, Bear? I’m-“ she bit her lip, trying to put her swirling emotions into words. His trust, his love, his devotion, he’d given it all to  _ her _ and she couldn’t take it for granted ever.    
“I wanna make  _ you _ feel good, Barry, tell me how....” she wanted him to feel loved and cherished and never regret his choice for a second.

Barry started to pull her closer and then stopped, a smile playing at his lips. He made a choked sound like he was trying to fight laughter and then he gave up, laughing full out as he leaned against her.   
"Shit, babe... I..." He snorted a little and then looked up at her. "Lup, if  _ I'm _ a sub and  _ you're _ a sub who’s flying the plane?"

She blinked at him, then collapsed on the bed, pulling Barry on top of her as she laughed hysterically. Wheezing, Lup pulled him in for a kiss, teeth clacking as she couldn’t stop smiling,    
  
“I love you  _ so _ much.....” Leaning back slightly, she grinned up at him, ears tilted jauntily,    
“I could go for being bent over the bed and railed until I can’t walk, but depends on your energy levels, babe.”    
  
Her hands wandered up his arms and shoulders, the swirling magic under her skin reaching out to his constantly moving fizzing power.

“I love you too, Lup.” He murmured it, leaning in to kiss her again. “I definitely like the sounds of that.”   
  
He gave her a wicked grin, ghosting his fingers along her collarbone and then down.   
  
“One of us had a nap today, post spell-work, so I’m good to go on any and all ideas you’ve got.”

Lup shivered at his touch, skating her hands up his shoulders to his neck, where she let a trickle of warmth run down his spine, "That's as far as I got; probably going to want to suck your dick before, though. Leave lots of new bruises, make sure you bite my ears at  _ least _ one each....." She grinned up at Barry, cupping his cheek and running her thumb over his lower lip.

“How long have you been thinking about this  _ exactly? _ Because it sounds to me, love, like you’ve been maybe fantasizing for a while.”   


His tone was only a little teasing. His  _ fingers _ on the other hand... He twirled one finger around her nipple, almost lazily, like they had all the time in the world, like he was intent on taking hours to wind her up and then take her apart just as slowly.

Lup’s eyes were fully dark as she smiled lazily up at him, “ _ Listen _ , it was a  _ very _ long day of people lecturing me.... had to pass the time  _ somehow _ .....” As her thumb brushed his lower lip, he grinned a little and then dipped his head forward to catch it between his lips and suck, running his tongue over it.   
  
Her mouth opened in a soft ‘ _ ah _ ’ at the twin sensations of Barry’s tongue and his finger, back arching slightly. Bringing one leg up alongside his, Lup tilted her knee against his hip, for the contact, for the promise of  _ more _ .

Barry pulled back a little, just enough that he could speak, "Definitely gonna have to let me know what you've been thinking about then. So we can go through all of it. Every single thing you thought about."   
  
He punctuated that with another long kiss.

Lup moaned into his mouth, hips lifting so her clit could drag along his belly, “ _ Shit- _ I wanted, wanted my mouth on you, I wanted to feel you yanking my hair, I-“    
She caught Barry’s mouth again, fingers running along his back, sending tiny pulses of warmth out of her fingers.

“F-Fuck, that sounds...”   
  
He made a soft sound a pleasure at her touch and experiment with his own magic, putting just a bit more of that carbonated fizz that was so indescribably him into his touch.“Tell me more. On the bed or... or do you wanna be on your knees?”

Lup shuddered under the touch, using more of her nails as she dragged her hands across Barry’s back,    
  
“Knee, knees gotta-“ she moved along his jaw, leaving small bites, “....gotta give you room to fuck my mouth, babe....”

“Oh... oh,  _ holy shit.” _   
  
His head went back, giving her better access to his neck, “And... and you’re gonna leave so many marks on me, yeah? So everyone knows I’m yours?”

The question made Lup’s hip twitch up against his, teeth finding an older bruise and biting down,    
“ _ Fuck yes _ , all over here, and down your thighs, the ones just for you and me-“ She pulled Barry’s head down to lick up his ear and bite at the soft skin behind it.

The soft sound he made at the first bite turned into a whine at the second.   
  
"Lup,  _ please. _ Please... Fuck, I... Please?" His hands settled on her hips, pulling her tight against him.

Lup soothed the bite with her tongue and wriggled under him, “Yeah- ....yeah, let me up, babe, gotta-  _ hah- _ gotta do some rearranging.”    
  
The loss of Barry’s weight rolling off her caused a whine to try to claw up her throat, but Lup pushed it down as she saw his flushed face and cock, nearly warm with how much he was wanting. Scrambling off the bed, she turned on her knees and beckoned for him, ears flared out.

Barry followed her and settled himself on the edge of the bed. He ran his fingers through her hair and smiled tenderly down at her.   
  
"Gods, babe, you're so beautiful."    
  
Want and  _ need _ surged in him and he stroked the length of her ear with one hand. He bit his lower lip, his tone turning from tender to teasing.   
  
"Can't wait to make a mess of you."

Lup’s eyes fluttered shut at the touch, mouth opening slightly as she breathed in for composure. The change in Barry’s tone had her free ear flicking towards him, and she glanced up through her lashes at his face,    
  
“Can’t wait to hear you fall apart, babe...”    
  
Tilting her head into his hand, she kissed along his inner thigh, leaving small nips at first. Nothing to leave marks, only enough to tease.

Barry leaned forward, breath hitching.   
  
"I...I've got half a mind to get... get shorts like I used to have. You know the ones. From the-mmm... the 50s? The little short ones. Show off all the marks you're gonna leave on me."   
  
All the while, his fingers still played over her ear, watching and loving the way she responded to his touch.

Lup’s eyes sparkled and she sucked a real mark into the fleshy part of Barry’s thigh,    
  
“Babe, if you’re suggesting we get you booty shorts on our next clothing run, you would not  _ believe _ how down I am for that ~”    
  
She ran the fingers of her left hand along his thigh, tracing her nails around the older marks there. He bruised easily and healed slowly, and there was a part of her that delighted at the thought of keeping certain marks on him for  _ months _ .   
  
His thumb swept up to the point of one of her ears and Lup’s breath caught in her throat, clit throbbing between her legs.    
Enough teasing, she had a promise to keep.    
  
Her right hand came up and gripped him, running up the length of his cock and flicking her thumb over the head, as she gave him one more smile and leaned down to take him into her mouth.

Barry started to respond and the words caught in his throat, emerging instead as a moan. His fingers tangled in her hair, but he wasn't quite ready to yank like she wanted. Just a little tug to tease her, to let her know he'd heard that part and was planning on keeping his promises too.    
  
Her mouth felt so good around him, so very very good. He closed his eyes as his head went back. Finding his words again, he spoke softly. His words were thick in his mouth.   
  
"You uh... you really want me to fuck your mouth, babe?" He rubbed the point of her ear between thumb and forefinger as he spoke. "Definitely... definitely into that. Just don't wanna... oh  _ fuck, _ Lup..." He had to stop for a moment, pulling his errant thoughts back together. "Don't wanna hurt you or anything."

Lup bobbed down, all the way down, humming as she relaxed her jaw enough to press her nose into the hair at the bottom of Barry’s abdomen. Pulling back to swirl her tongue around his head, she pulled off and grinned up at him, voice hoarse,   
  
“You ever watch wrestling, babe?” She put her hand up and tapped twice on the fullest part of his stomach, “I’ll let you know when, Bear.”

"Two taps. Got it."   
  
He stood then, making sure he had a little bit of space. Didn't want to fall. That could get awkward. He was running his fingers through her hair, watching her for a long moment, almost teasing with how slow he was going.    
  
"Ready, babe?"

Lup grinned up at him, eyes half shut from the hair stroking and let her mouth fall open as she reached up to tap once on his hip.

Barry took a breath and experimentally rolled his hips forward, watching her. Fuck, it felt good. At the same time, he was so very conscious of how easy it would be to go too far like this. He knew from experience.

Lup reached out, running a hand up his thigh to rest it at the small of Barry’s back, ears tilted up and forward in a pleased position, meeting his eyes as best she could.

He ran a finger up one of her ears and relaxed. Right, she would let him know if something was wrong, if he pushed too hard. She trusted him and he trusted her. His grip on her hair tightened and he pulled her as he moved, trying to match the motions to the rhythm as he thrust into her mouth.

Lup let her eyes flutter closed again, matching her breathing against Barry’s rhythm, ignoring the natural discomfort in favor of listening to Barry’s breath catching and speeding up, his fingers tightening in her hair, the way he twitched against her tongue.    
  
On a particularly long drag back, her fingers curled against the small of his back, digging her nails into the soft skin, and her  _ own _ breath caught, a stuttering purr starting up and catching her entirely by surprise.

Barry’s eyes widened at the sudden  _ vibration _ against him and what last few thoughts he’d had scattered to the wind as he stammered out something that sounded like he was tripping over the sounds in her name and several of his favorite swears at the same time.   
He snapped his hips forward harder and faster, moaning at the way his cock dragged over the roof of her mouth, the feeling of her surrounding him, and those wonderful, not so subtle vibrations.

The sudden speed was a Lot, but Lup relaxed her jaw as much as she could, determined to finish him off. She was almost able to keep pace until combined snap of Barry’s hips and the way he yanked her hair back timed badly with her trying to take a breath.    
  
Grumpily, she tapped quickly at the small of Barry’s back, trying not to choke on lack of air.

Barry came alert at the taps and pulled back. He was still breathing hard and very close, but there was concern and fear in his eyes that dulled some of that.   
  
"Shit... shit... Sorry...I... Lup, are you okay?"

She nodded several times, bringing up her elbow to cough hard,    
  
“Shit-“ her voice was hoarse and she coughed again, reaching out to try to keep a hand on him while she couldn’t talk. “S’bad timing, you’re fine-“

He had moved away entirely, as far back against the bed as he could and his hands held out towards her but not quite willing to touch until he was sure.    
"You're sure?"

Lup cleared her throat and used one of his outstretched hands to pull herself to her feet, knees cramping., “Wouldn’t- wouldnt kid you about that, babe,” reaching for the usual glass of water on the nightstand, she collapsed on the bed and took a gulp of it.

Barry followed her onto the bed, laying beside her. He laid a hand gently on her hip, still looking uncertain.    
  
"We can stop, if you want. That's okay."  
  
“That’s probably it for the face fucking,” Lup kept her voice determinately cheerful, “I think you still owe me a railing though.” 

"Don't know that I want to go uh...  _ right _ into that, but I will most definitely be down for fucking you so hard you can't walk when I will last for... for more than 0.3 seconds."  
  
Putting the water glass down, Lup flopped back next to Barry and kissed his nose,    
“That was fun, Bear, right up until I needed to breathe, promise.”  
  
He laughed a little, almost embarrassed.    
  
"That was... that was real good, babe. Did you... did you know you could uh... purr and... and suck cock at the same time? Because  _ wow _ that was a surprise that I very much appreciated."

Lup shook her head, scooching forward enough to kiss Barry on the mouth, every line of her body begging to be held,    
“Couple times when I went down on someone? Not a lot, could count that on one hand. S’DEF something we should explore further,” She wrinkled her nose, still disappointed, “I almost  _ had _ you....”

He scooted closer, wrapping his arms around her.    
"And it was absolutely amazing and... and something we can try again sometime. Just gotta figure out how uh... how to  _ not _ do...  _ that." _ He looked uncomfortable for moment. "Just so you know, that uh... that's a hard no for me. I can't uh...  _ reciprocate _ that one."   
  
Then he paused, a curious look crossing his face.    
  
"Hey babe, this is gonna sound really, really dumb but do you have a stopwatch? I uh..."    
  
He kissed her again, almost apologetically, and then grabbed the small notebook he kept near the bed and flipped to a blank page. Pulling out the pen that went with it, he wrote across the top of the page 'Do I have to breathe??'

Lup blinked at the sudden change in topic and her eyes drifted to the notebook,    
  
“Babe, I understand you don’t want to come in 0.3 seconds but-“ she still got up to grab her phone off the nightstand, flicking open the stopwatch on it.

"Yeah, but think of the uh... the potential benefits if my hypothesis is right."   
  
He grinned at her and started roughly sketching a table for data, "Give me a mark to start, okay?"

Lup gave him a wry look, but her ears were at an amused tilt as she held up a finger,    
  
“And- now.”    
  
She hits the button and glanced at him, “Does this mean I could say anything and you aren’t going to respond, babe?” There was a wicked looking glint in her eyes.

He gave her a  _ look _ but said absolutely nothing. He wasn't breathing. And it didn't seem to be bothering him in the slightest.

Lup hummed, rocking back and forth as she watched her phone,  
  
“I mean, we’ve been super focused on triggers the last few months, so kinks  _ should _ be next on the list,” she grinned, one ear tilting his way to listen for any intake of breath.    
  
“ _ I _ like ropes, honestly. Weren’t you a Boy Scout? You just seem like a dude who knows his knots.” She cocked her head, ears  akimbo, still keeping her focus on the phone.    
He gave her a thumbs up and a little salute at the Boy Scout comment. Oh he had  _ absolutely _ been a boy scout. Where did she think he figured out he liked girls  _ and _ guys? 

Lup eyed him, evil grin becoming fond,    
  
“Cool, awesome, consider this your permission to tie me up and do whatever you feel like. 

_ OH _ , we totally need to try the ghost fucking for science, babe. If you can’t keep your dick hard without the harness, maybe see if we can get your control up to handling a dildo. And you  _ know _ if we write it down it’s  _ totally _ science.”    
  
She frowned in thought, bring the phone to tap her lip, “maybe we should get a separate notebook for that. I don’t think Davenport  _ really _ needs to know about your dexterity with a dildo.”  
  
By about now, two wholes minutes had come and gone and he still seemed entirely chill and was very much not breathing. Two minutes was what Navy Seals could pull off. The record without pure oxygen before hand was something like ten minutes... for a living person, anyway. Barry looked like he was set to blow right past that without breaking a sweat.  
  
Lup leaned back, ignoring her phone at this point, focus all on Barry.    
  
“So the reason I can count on one hand the times I’ve purred while giving head isn’t just the whole physical aspect; it’s pretty involuntary half the time, honestly. It’s not just about being happily well fucked, that’s just a good way to  _ get _ there,” she grinned with all her teeth at him.    
  
“It’s more like.... safety? Trust? It can totally happen when we’re feeling scared and alone as a self-soothe thing, but most of the time we quit that by puberty.”    
She frowned, “or that could just be anecdata, me ‘n Taako are probably outliers in a few ways.”    
  
Scooching closer, she planted a kiss on Barry’s cheek and showed him the time on her phone as she kept talking.    
  
“Feeling safe and happy enough to purr  _ during _ sex is a lot more rare than after, yeah?”    
  
She pushed her nose against Barry’s shoulder, ears swiveled at him, “.....love you....”

Sometime after the five minute mark, he started laughing and leaned against her. He managed to stop laughing, catching his breath.   
  
"I love you too, Lup." He turned to kiss her and then broke out laughing again. "I'm... I'm sorry but did you really...  _ anecdata?" _   
  
He slung an arm around her, trying to stop laughing. Trying and failing.

Lup cackled along with him, using his arm to shove them both backwards, “Are you making fun of my perfectly cromulent word, Bluejeans?”

"No, I'm  _ horrified _ that the love of my life just... just associated anecdote and  _ data _ like they can be considered the same thing!"   
  
He sounded just  _ slightly _ legitimately outraged but the rest was for show.   
  
"Babe, that's almost as bad as saying anecdotal  _ evidence. _ Can... Can I say that bad science is a hard no in the bedroom?"

Lup placed a hand on her chest in mock horror, “now you’re just  _ kink-shaming _ me!”    
  
She held the pose for exactly one second before cracking up again, wheezing against Barry’s shoulder

Barry hugged her tightly. "Now then... let's see, I've got some questions to answer, don't I? Uh... One. Totally a Boy Scout. Made Eagle and everything. Was very into the uniforms. The other guys looked  _ great. _ Two. Definitely need a sexy science journal because I am  _ not _ sharing those notes with  _ anyone _ who is not in this room right now. Three. Very down to talk kink and that is a thing we should do sometime. Preferably when we're not both already naked because I feel like that just leads to us getting distracted? And uh... and Four?"   
  
He kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose.   
  
"It means a lot to me that you're that... that happy? And comfortable? And like... feel that safe with me that you would purr when... Yeah. It uh... it means a lot."

Lup kissed him, humming into his mouth happily.    
  
“If there are  _ any _ surviving pictures of Barry in a uniform, I have a need for them.”    
  
Raising herself up on one elbow, she pushed a brief kiss down on him and edged away, grin going toothy, “All that was super good, totally into the science bit, but you  _ did _ agree to railing me until I couldn’t walk....~”

"I absolutely did and I have no intentions of breaking that promise, babe."   
  
He slid off the bed and reached for her, "This good?"   
  
He asked it as he went to pulled her across the bed. He was cheating a bit with his magic to make it easier, of course, but he was strong and he remembered how much she liked it when he had shown that off in the past.

Lup eyes grow dark and her ears flare out as she feels both hands and magic, “ _ Fuck _ yeah....”    
  
She pointed at the night stand, cocking her head teasingly at him, “They’re in there, babe, think you can manage a drawer?”

Barry glared over at the drawer while he positioned her in front of him and the drawer popped open. The contents didn't move though and he sighed.   
  
"Come on... Come on..."   
  
After a moment, the box of gloves slammed upwards into the ceiling and he yelped.

Lup jumped and couldn't help an involuntary laugh.   
  
"I'm just really glad I never got into those ceramic box containers you see in motels....."   
  
Reaching up and back to kiss Barry, she scooted over to grab the necessaries and held them out to him,   
"We're done on science for a bit, I think."

"In my defense, its real hard to  _ focus _ on magic when you're naked and in front of me and wanting to be railed, babe. That is like... very not conducive to my ability to focus."   
  
He took the small pile and set it in easy reach before reaching for one of the gloves. Then he stopped, considering. He grinned and kissed her again.   
  


"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go see... I can't believe I hadn't checked... but uh..."   
  
He darted out of the room, headed towards his old bedroom.

Lup flopped back onto the bed with a loud, dramatic groan, "Clearly not I'm distracting  _ enough! _ "   
  
She couldn't find it in her to be too annoyed, even so. There was something inherently soothing in knowing they could get distracted and laugh together, and she'd still see him in the morning.   
  
....Still, her feet were swinging against the bed impatiently by the time Barry came back.

Barry had a triumphant look as he practically slammed an old shoebox from a pair of converse from the 30s down on the bed. The lid popped off as he did, revealing the contents. Certainly, the old bottle of lube had gone off-color and thick and one rubber butt plug had cracked, but the rest of the contents of the box seemed to be in alright repair despite the decades. He was grinning like an absolute idiot and he gestured at it proudly.   
  
"You're not the only one with a drawer full of fun stuff, babe."

Lup's ear flipped up in interest, though the cobweb in the corner of the box did  _ not _ fill her with anticipation,   
  
"Barry, babe, I love you, this is super educational, but anything in here that's, uhhhhhh,  _ viable _ is gonna be soaked in disinfectant for like....an  _ hour _ before I put it anywhere near me."   
  
She pawed through the box anyway, flipping the bottle of lube straight into their small plastic trash can without looking at it, followed by the butt plug.    
There was a glass plug in there that got a much more positive scrutiny, and Lup set it on the lid, rather than back in the box.   
There was a blindfold that was soft and dusty, possible originally black in color. Lup ran her fingers over it carefully, not sure if it would survive being picked up.   
  
A string of rope got a grin out of her, and she picked it up to run her fingers along it.   
  
....The leather cuffs she did not give more than a glance and deliberately ignored.

Barry's shoulders slumped a little but he still gave her a little smile, "Is... any of it alright? Like... long term, I guess?"   
  
He took box and set it aside to deal with later.    
  
"Or I guess we could go shopping after we have that little kink talk."

"Oh we're playing with that plug later for  _ sure _ , glass keeps excellently,"   
  
He leaned in and kissed her again.   
  
"Good, I was always a... a fan of that one. But first, I promised you something." This time, when he reached for the gloves, he pulled one on and immediately reached for the lube. "Let me see... Bend you over the bed and rail you until you can't walk. Have I got that right, babe?"  
  
Lup arched up against his kiss, biting his lip before he pulled away and she stretched out on the bed again,   
  
" _ Yes please _ , Barry. Also ear biting, that one got me through the debriefing with Kravitz's boss."

Barry grinned and pulled her back towards him, “I love the sound of that. Now come here.”    
  
He knew exactly how he wanted her and he wasn’t shy about getting her there. Once she had her feet on the floor and her stomach on the bed, he set about properly slicking up his fingers.    
  
“Like this good tonight, babe?”

Lup arched her back, looking over her shoulder at him, fondly, “Green lights on all panels, babe.”    
  
Stretching her hands out across the bed in front of her, she hummed thoughtfully,    
  
“Speaking of ropes.... gonna need to include those next time....”

Barry chuckled quietly, “We are absolutely going to do that. Can we take turns?”   
  
He teased her entrance with one finger, not quite pressing it in yet, “Don’t entirely know what we would tie you to at this angle, though. There really isn’t anything good.” He reached around to stroke her clit as he finally slid one finger into her.

“Yeah for sure, equality, love to, to see you all spread out for me, babe-“    
  
Lup dropped her face into the mattress with a long sigh, fingers flexing against the sheets, “Your hands are  _ gorgeous _ , babe.....”

"Glad you approve." He teased lightly and then his tone turned tender, loving. "I know I say it a lot, but you really are beautiful, you know that?"   
  
He slid a second finger in, watching her ears with a little grin. He absolutely loved how expressive she was, how easy it was to read her mood. And the way she responded to his touch was a huge boost to his ego. As he inserted a third finger, he leaned forward.   
  
"Not tonight, clearly, since we've already got a plan that I am... am very down for but uh... maybe sometime, spreading you out like this and tying you down and then I could eat you out. How's that sound, Lup?"

Lup gasped into the mattress, ears swinging backwards towards him and going bright red,    
"Fu-  _ fuck _ , sounds-" she whined, knees flexing at the side of the bed, pushing herself onto his fingers, "Sounds  _ amazing _ , Bear..."

"You really like the sound of that, don't you?" He thrust into her harder and faster. "Fuck, babe, you are so, so good for me."He took his hand away from stroking her clit reluctantly, and reached for the condom she'd left on the bed for him. Distantly, he wished he had the fine control with his magic to just... handle that while he kept attending to her, but he knew perfectly well he didn't. Not with the way he kept launching things across the room when he tried too hard. Better to just take a moment and get that on with both hands like a normal person.

“Uh-huh,” Lup articulated, fingers scrabbling at the sheets, and whining as Barry pulled away from her clit,    
“ _ Gods _ , I love you, I love your hands and mouth and  _ Barry- _ “ She choked off as his fingers found her sweet spot and pressed.

"Mmmmm..." He hummed softly. "There we go~ Love that, don't you? Right there, babe?"   
He kept going like that for a bit longer, not wanting to pull away. After a moment, though, he did so, reluctantly. "Just need a minute to uh..."    
As quickly as he could, while still being  _ somewhat _ careful, he got the condom on and lubricated. He tossed the glove into the trash can and settled behind her again, one hand firm on her hips and the other guiding him into her.

Lup did not bother suppressing the whine she made as Barry drew his fingers out of her, and she watched him over her shoulder, ears flared low and and eyes dark as he adjusted himself.    
  
“You look good back there, Bear....”  It was all she managed before he pushed into her. She let her head fall forward, a low moan being drawn out of her.

Barry moaned in return, rolling his hips forward as he pulled her back towards him.    
  
"Love you so much... Gonna- gonna give you everything you- you want and..." He was picking up the pace, falling into a harder and faster rhythm than usual. "Fuck. You. So. Good. You. Can't.  _ Stand." _   
He punctuated each word with a hard thrust deep into her, fingers digging into her hips.

Lup’s gasps rose in pitch with each thrust until she was keening into the sheets, trying to push back in time to Barry’s rhythm. It was  _ so good _ , and all she could manage in the way of encouragement was a litany of soft  _ please, please, bear, please- _

Barry gripped her hips, dragging her back with each thrust. He groaned, leaning forward against her. His breath hitched and his words dissolved into a worshipful chant of her name.

“ _ Love _ you, I love-“ Lup’s voice spiraled up into a cracked wail, each thrust rutting her clit against the mattress. Reaching down a trembling hand, she gripped it, not ready to come, wanting to prolong this as long as Barry could go.

Internally, Barry was running through the chemical equation for photosynthesis, it being the first one he could remember any of, in a somewhat desperate attempt to keep himself from climaxing too soon. He had made a promise and he was going to keep going until she was absolutely spent or  _ so help him. _

Lup could feel herself running parallel to her edge, no matter how much she put it off, and pushed herself back as she could manage, ears deliberately pinning back,    
“Bear-  _ Barry _ , you promise-“ her voice was failing her, hoarse from use.

Barry slowed his pace just slightly, running his hands down her sides as he leaned forward. He flicked his tongue over the tip of one of her ears and then nipped at the same spot.    
  
"Like that, babe?" He murmured, mouth still close to her ear. "That what you wanted?"

“ _ Ass _ ,” Lup arched into his touch, free ear flicking forward before she pinned it back again, “ _ Tease- _ ”

He nuzzled against her. "Too gentle?" Then he bit more like he meant it, careful not to actually break the skin.

Lup keened, hips jerking as the bloom of pain at her ear shot straight to the heat at her core,    
  
“ _ Fuck, FUCK- _ ”    
  
She fell forward on one hand, her other unsuccessfully trying to stop the white hot orgasm rolling through her.

Barry faltered for a moment, scrambling as he tried to get his hands on her hips again. He went back to that hard and fast pace from before, snapping his hips forward almost violently. He reveled in the knowledge that he was definitely going to leave bruises on her hips, a series of small bruises where his hands had been.    
  
And then he cried out wordlessly, just sounds of pure pleasure riding the air as he let the rushing tide catch him up and crash around them both.

Lup whimpered, feeling Barry come, reaching a trembling hand back for his as she felt him slow and still.    
Not trusting herself to talk yet, she closed her eyes and drifted for a few moments on a fuzzy golden euphoria.

Barry barely registered Lup's hand at first. Then he smiled and caught it, wrapping an arm around her waist. He didn't move yet. He didn't want to. This felt so good, so right.

The feeling of Barry’s weight on her and his hand in hers felt like flipping a switch as Lup began to purr, “Y’r so good....” she slurred, tongue feeling heavy in her mouth, “so good to me, babe....”

"Love you so much..." He murmured, holding her close against him. He strayed lazy kisses over her skin anywhere he could reach. "Wanna make you happy."

“Real good at it, the best,” Lup shifted, pulling at the hand trapped under her and made an inarticulate sound of disgust. “Ugh..... this is  _ oppression _ .”

"Hmmm?" Barry moved slowly, standing and trying to stretch his back, "Everything okay, babe?"

“Just gonna need a shit ton of wipes, Bear,” slowly she rolled over to give him a grin, “I seem to have been, hmmmm, fucked senseless.”

Barry laughed and sat beside her, running his fingers along her arm, "Could always forgo the wipes this time and take a shower, babe. I could uh... I could wash your back for you~"   
  
His tone was more than a little teasing even now.

Lup stuck her tongue out at him and kicked a leg, wincing, “Only if you’re offering to carry me; see, my  _ boyfriend _ railed me so hard with his bomb-ass  _ dick _ I can’t  _ walk _ right now.”

Barry kissed her cheek. "Want me to grab the wipes for you?"    
He looked around and spotted the box and held his hand out for it. It popped into the air and hopped about a foot. Rolling his eyes, he grumbled and got up to go get it.

Lup giggled and sat up, wincing, “gonna have to push Taako to teach you circles, babe. It helps a  _ lot _ once you figure out how to channel things through a system.”    
Wiping off her hand and belly, she pushed off the edge of the bed and stood, wobbling. “Gonna have to be careful what I ask for, huh?”

He reached for a wipe of his own, quickly cleaning himself off.    
  
"You say that like you didn't love every second of it. And anyway, you don't need to walk to cuddle." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck, "Or I  _ could _ carry you to the shower, if you really want. I'm very equal opportunity like that."

“You’re a fuckin’  _ showoff _ is what you are,” Lup leaned into him, grinning, “yeah, shower’s good. I can probably make it most of the way.”    
  
Wrapping an arm around Barry’s shoulder, she made it more or less easily down the hall to the tiny bathroom. 


	9. Chapter 9

With his new paperwork in his possession, Barry could finally get hired by the lab for real instead of just doing small research projects for Davenport unofficially. And with a week of work behind him, he was looking forward to the weekend. Up until he remembered the lunch plans he had for Saturday. Alright, sure, he was really glad that Lucretia wanted to hang out. But he also remembered what Lup had told him to talk to Lucretia about. Yeah, that definitely wasn’t gonna be awkward at _all._   
  
He parked to give himself a bit of a walk before he got to Lucretia’s place just because he could and grinned at the appreciative looks his car was getting from a gaggle of teenagers. Then he headed down the street to Lucretia’s place.

 

The address Lucretia had given him was for a small two story, blue with white trim, Victorian house, dwarfed by it’s more modern neighbors, the front yard was a friendly garden, wilting some in the August heat. Lucretia waved at him from the side of the yard where she was watering a line of potted orchids,    
  
“Barry! Hello, just watering the girls here, and lunch should be ready when I’m done.”

  
Barry raised his hand in a wave and came over to see the flowers.   
  
"These are gorgeous. Did uh... did you grow them yourself or...?"   
  
He wasn't entirely sure how to interact with Lucretia from time to time. He'd slipped once early on and gotten a two hour lecture on the evolution of word usage, so he had been very careful to watch his words since then.

 

The moment he stepped over the boundary between the sidewalk and the yard, the sounds behind him became... not muffled, but unimportant. If he focused, he could hear a neighbor talking across the street; but unless he did, the noise became less important than a fan in the next room.    
  
There was a feeling of being heavily scrutinized the closer he got to the house; however this went away as soon as he neared Lucretia, who laughed at his question,    
  
“These are just the ones I haven’t managed to kill, but yes, the orchids I’ve mostly grown myself. The garden itself is heavily Merle influenced.”    
  
Putting her watering can down, she grinned at him and gestured for the door, “Hungry? I know you don’t do dairy, so I made salmon today.”

 

"Oh wow, that sounds really good."    
  
He was looking around, curiously prodding at the spell work he knew was there. He could feel it surrounding them and he was extremely impressed. Then he followed after her towards the door, looking around at her neat tidy house. Everything was just so  _ organized. _

 

As Lucretia led him through the open sitting room, lined with with red oak bookcases, she gestured him at a pair of overstuffed chairs with a small table between them,    
  
“Make yourself comfortable there, I don’t much bother with the dining room, and this one has a MUCH better view.”    
  
The feeling of being scrutinized had briefly increased and gone away again. Now there was only the feeling of... everything past the windows being unimportant. In here was Safety and Comfort. Barry was enfolded in a sense of utter well being.    
  
There were noises of clanking lids as Lucretia called from the kitchen;    
  
“So did you manage to get through any of the books I recommended?”

 

Barry settled into a seat and looked out the window. The view really was great.   
  
"Yeah, actually. I uh... I haven't had a lot of time with the uh... repairs and all that. To the house. But I've had a little time to read."   
  
Even with that sense of comfort, he was fidgety and nervous.

 

“Which one did you start with? I know Lup has been pushing mostly fiction on you-  _ not _ a bad thing, by any means, but-“    
  
She came back out again with a pair of plates and wine glasses, and glanced at a rack of bottles framed neatly between a pair of bookcases,    
  
“Just water for you, or.....?”

 

"I started on the one about the uh... the gay rights movement. It uh... it's been an interesting read. Like... both a lot of progress and very not."   
  
He followed her gaze and smiled.   
  
"I'll take a glass of wine if you're offering. I don't have a clue what you pair with fish though. I uh... I know what kind of  _ beer _ I'd match to it but I don't usually drink wine."

 

Lucretia ran a hand down the rack and pulled a bottle of white wine out,    
  
“I think there’s also that most of the laws haven’t quite caught up with the overall public sentiment, but you aren’t wrong...”    
  
Bringing the bottle with her back into the kitchen, Lucretia ferried it back, opened, with a pitcher of water, a large plate of roasted salmon and a bowl of rice,    
  
“Full disclosure, I’m intending on picking your brain about a  _ lot _ of things about some of your work at NASA. Most of the day to day stuff?”

 

"Oh, absolutely." Barry grinned at that, relaxing now. "I'm always happy to talk about that sort of stuff. It uh... it was a lot of fun. Hard work, but important and fun."   
  
He got up to help with anything he could before settling back.   
  
"So, any particular questions?"

 

NASA got them through a half hour and half the bottle of wine, Lucretia mostly focusing on what Barry remembered of his coworkers deliberately side stepping two specific ones, the computers (human and not), how office politics worked, and so on. This led her to prodding at why he had chosen his degree in the first place, relaxed enough to offer up her own;    
  
“Abjuration and creative writing,” she grinned into her glass, “not a double major most people pick, but-“

 

"It sounds like an interesting mix, you know." He took a sip of his own wine. "I... This is gonna be dumb but like, I actually got into rocket science because of uh... because of War of the Worlds. I heard the uh... the broadcast as a kid and..." He shrugged, grinning.

 

Lucretia laughed, shaking her head, "I got into abjuration because I was mad that the Enterprise never had proper shielding, and I wanted to know how they could do better."   
  
She shrugged, "creative writing came after that realization, mostly. I love how much speculative fiction, hmmmm, shapes our world and world views. "

 

"You know, that makes perfect sense. I've actually been basing like... learning to control my magic on stuff I learned from Star Trek. Given long enough, I think I might figure out matter transference like... when I'm physical. Because I can totally do it when I'm... uh...  _ not. _ And that would be super neat if I could."   
  
The conversation was fascinating and Barry was really starting to relax. Enough that he wasn't overly nervous when he finally set his glass down and looked at her more seriously. "So... I don't know if Lup warned you or if you maybe guessed but uh... She told me to ask you about well... why you two broke up? Which seems like really weird question to be asking and like I'm probably maybe hitting a nerve or something but I figured she wouldn't tell me to ask if it wouldn't be alright."

 

Lucretia blinked and swirled her glass, mouth twitching, "Lesbians don't break up, they just stop sleeping together, didn't you know?"   
Barry only barely didn't start laughing, though he did put a hand over his mouth to ensure it.    
Snorting, Lucretia reached for the bottle and refilled her glass  _ much _ fuller, "No, but really, what was the context?"

  
"We uh... well, we were talking about a lot of stuff and... Alright, full context, I threw a hissy fit because she said some things and I ended up uh... more or less throwing my harness with magic and going ghost while hiding in my old room. Once we got  _ that _ sorted out, and talked about some stuff, she said she's not great at interpersonal stuff and that you could, and I quote, give me an earful."

 

Lucretia closed her eyes and rubbed one hand at her temple,    
  
“ _ Balls _ , I cant believe she was serious... no, no, not  _ you- _ ” she held up a hand to forestall any apologies Barry might make, “this was a joke from, oh, a few years back. I said she ought to come with warning labels, and she asked if I was volunteering.”    
  
She held out the bottle with the rest of the wine in Barry’s direction with a raised eyebrow.

 

Barry held out his glass. "If we're doing this, I'm gonna imagine we're both gonna need a drink."   
His tone was only half joking.

 

Lucretia barked a laugh and held out a glass to him to clink, "Cheers to  _ that _ , and if we finish this before we're done, I have harder stuff."   
  


"As long as it's not American beer. I don't know what's happened to it in the last 50 years, but that piss water isn't beer,” he sipped at it and shrugged, "I mean, other than the whole... absolutely did  _ not _ get that I could be like... emotionally attached to a place until I lost my temper  _ thing... _ Honestly, things have been great. I mean... my uh... my whole measurement scale for shit is probably cosmically fucked because my ex was literally a murderous douchebag but like...."

  
Taking a sip, Lucretia shook her head, "Lup is  _ not _ one in my history of bad exes, I want to make that  _ perfectly _ clear. I love her dearly and-" she gave him a soft, if somewhat sideways, smile, "- _ you _ have nothing to fear on that point. When she loves, she loves  _ hard _ . You just-" She shrugged, "You haven't  _ known _ her very long and some things...some things can only be known through time."   
  
She raised her glass again, irony in every line, "Hence; warning label."

  
  
He took a sip, listening to her words, and he realized that unlike instances in the distant past when he had been  _ very _ jealous of people Edward was flirting with, he wasn't worried here. He trusted Lup completely and he trusted Lucretia's word. He smiled at the thought, a smile that quickly gave way to a grin as he asked his next question.   
  
"So, what's on this warning label? Besides caution,  _ is _ an open flame?"

 

She choked, covering her mouth as she coughed enough so she could laugh, " _ Shit _ , okay  _ ground rules _ ;" picking up a napkin, she blew her nose and laughed again, "This is  _ good _ wine, watch your timing."   
  


Barry set his glass down, snorting with laughter. "I'll be more careful with the humor, promise. Can't waste good wine."

  
Clearing her throat, Lucretia stared out the front window at her garden, humming in thought.   
  
"Some things are just...compatibility issues. You might not notice  _ now _ , and it might lessen if you're living together but..." she shook her head, taking a sip, ".....both Lup  _ and _ Taako don't make friends easily. She just hides it better. But once she has a person, she wants that person in her sphere.....most of the time."   
  
Lucretia raised an eyebrow at him, mouth quirked, ".....I like my space. If you don't, you'll be fine, but...." she shrugged, "Telling her to fuck off once in a while is good for her. We just....had different ideas on how much was  _ enough _ ."

 

  
  
Barry shrugged, "I had... I was alone long enough to appreciate having someone else around all the time. Even just like... just so I don't forget I'm not  _ stuck _ alone any more, you know?" He smiled fondly. "And I've got my craft room. So that's not bad at all. Anything else I should know?"

 

"Hmm," Lucretia looked into her glass contemplatively, "She's impulsive, feels deeply, says what she's thinking as she's thinking it, has a tendency to double down on things when you try to convince her she's wrong,"   
  
She shrugged and gave him a slightly sad smile, "all that makes for some  _ exceptionally _ cruel comments if, say, one might indicate that one wishes to  _ not _ have her company for a prolonged trip. One thing you have that I didn't; she doesn't feel the need to spend as much time as possible with you before she sees you grow old and die."

 

And just like that, Barry's smile is gone. That's something he can understand. He had been there and, thanks to Edward in a twisted way, he would never be there again. He and Lup had forever and that was something most people just couldn't say. All the time in the world.    
  
"I'll... have to remember that. I... I know I don't exactly react great to..." He exhaled slowly. "Let's put it this way, Edward was a jackass pretty much most of the time? I got it  _ less _ but... Yeah. Therapy.  _ Therapy." _

 

Lucretia holds her glass out again, this time with  _ much _ more weight to needing that click,   
  
"So mote it be."

 

He returned the toast. "So mote it be."   
  
Then he smiled again. "You know what's funny? It's... it's sort of weird having friends again. Like... This is gonna sound wild, but back in the day, it was just the four of us, five when Keats was still alive. And I... I guess... I guess I never thought about it, but I didn't have  _ friends _ outside that group. And Maureen practically had to win her way into being part of the group." His smile grew. "I like having friends."

 

Lucretia gave him a sidelong look, but nodded, "Well, you're not going to have much choice in  _ that _ area. You're one of  _ ours _ . If nothing else, there's six of us nerds wanting to push all our very favorite forms of media on you in the hopes you'll be another convert."

 

"Yeah, and I've gotta say, Star Wars? Totally got me on that one. I uh... Taako introduced me to the EU. I'm still not sure how I feel about it being not in the same canon as the movies and I kind of feel like... like they really lost something from the latest movies by leaving out Mara Jade but... they're still a fun ride and I really like Rey. I'm... I'm half convinced she's a Solo. Like... like Ben's twin. Sort of like a mirror to Jacen and Jaina Skywalker?"   
  
He seemed to realize he was babbling and stopped, looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I'll uh... I'll just..."

  
Lucretia leaned forward, eyes bright,    
  
"Oh it is  _ very _ on. Hold up, I need whiskey for this."


	10. Roadtrip, 1964

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, we tried to be fairly accurate to the era so here's a few warnings about what lies ahead: period accurate homophobia, period accurate racism, fantasy racism and implied driving while drunk

**\----- 1964 -----**

  
Barry pulled up in front of the house and turned the radio up a little. The new Beatles song was playing and he was humming along as he drummed on the steering wheel. He was a little early, but he'd gone to pick up Maureen first, figuring that she would be ready. It would be at least another half hour before Edward and Lydia would be ready, knowing them. That was fine. It would give them time to pick up some snacks for the road. So, he just watched the door, waiting for Maureen to appear while he sung along quietly.  
  
_ "It's been a hard day's night..." _

Maureen was waiting on the porch as Barry pulled up, and jumped to her feet before he had even parked, yelling through the screen door,   
  
"Okay Momma, he's here! Gotta split!"   
  
Clattering down the porch, she tossed her beat up messenger bag in the back and hopped over the passenger door,   
  
" _ Goose it! _ Before she-"   
  
The screen door opened and Mrs Miller came out, "MAUR, aren't you going to say goodbye?"   
  
Maureen slumped.

Barry started laughing and turned the car off.    
  
"Come on, Mo, gotta go have manners. I mean uh... unless you  _ don't _ wanna come on the next trip." He teased lightly but he was smiling as he got out of the car to head up the front walk to quickly introduce himself to Mrs. Miller. They had met in passing, of course, but this was decidedly different and he was fully aware of that. So, he put on his best manners, the ones his own mother had pounded into his head back in the 30s, and held out his hand.   
  
"It's real swell to see you again, Mrs. Miller."

Mrs. Miller gave him a genuine smile as she shook his hand, “Always a pleasure, Doctor Bluejeans, we’re so happy you’ve given Maur this opportunity. Come say goodbye, Maur.”   
  
Maureen reluctantly came back to kiss her cheek and smile, “Bye, Momma, I’ll miss you.”    
  
“Now, I just want to make  _ sure _ , and I know you’re a good man, Marlena’s boy and all, but you’ll look after Maureen, won’t you?”   
  
“ _ Momma _ .”   
  
“Only she hasn’t been so far from home on her own before this,”    
  
“ _ MOMMA- _ ”   
  
“And I know you work with them and they’re good folk, but you know how elves can get-“   
  
“ **MOMMAAAA** ,” Maureen was practically wailing, “you can’t just  _ say _ that!”    
  
“Just looking out for you, Maur, I’m sure Edward is a fine mathematician.”

Barry sighed inwardly. He was used to these kinds of comments, had been hearing them for years. But on the outside, he was still smiling, still the picture of responsible adult.   
  
"Don't worry, Ma'am, Maureen's in good hands with us and... and we already arranged everything so we'll be staying in separate motel rooms when we stop. I'll be in with Edward and she'll be with Lydia."   
  
He knew there was more he could say. They had been friends for years. Ed was pretty damn harmless. He was also about as bent as a pretzel. Of course, Barry wasn't actually going to say  _ that _ out loud. Then he grinned.   
  
"If you're worried, I can always make sure she calls you from the motel." He was halfway directing the comment at Maureen, his tone still even and projecting mature adult but Maureen would easily recognize the teasing undertone.

Maureen glowered at him as Mrs. Miller brightened up and turned back towards the house,    
“Oh! That would be just  _ fine! _ I have a stack of nickels, one moment....”   
  
As she hurried back indoors, Maureen grumbled at Barry in an undertone,    
“So glad you’re falling on that grenade of protecting my  _ virtue _ , BB, really. You’re a pal, a real slodge.....”

He tried to cover a laugh and responded in the same low whisper,"What can I say? I'm a regular old Captain America." He adjusted his glasses and stretched, "We've got some time before I'm expecting Ed to be ready. Once you're paroled, wanna go grab doughnuts?"

Maureen brightened and nodded vehemently as Mrs. Miller came out with a jingling coin purse, and handed it to her.    
  
“Now, just call me from the hotel and let me know you made it safe, y’hear?”   
  
“Yes, Momma.”   
  
“You have your camera? Try to get us some pictures, won’t you?”   
  
“ _ Yes _ , Momma.”   
  
“And don’t eat anywhere too out of the way, you know your stomach is sensitive-“   
  
“ _ YES. MOMMA. _ ”   
  
“And have fun!” Mrs. Miller leaned over to kiss her cheek and waved them off.   
  
As Barry pulled away from the house, Maureen flopped back in the seat and groaned,   
“Just  _ one _ more year. I’ll finish this stupid degree and move out and I’ll be  _ done _ with Nowheresville....”

Barry laughed and turned towards the Krispy Kreme. It was pretty new and the coffee was only alright but the doughnuts were absolutely to die for.    
  
"See, you say that now, but you're gonna miss it. I did post-grad away and I couldn't come back home fast enough."   
  
He pulled into the parking lot, leaving the engine running while he dug through his wallet for a dollar, "Okay, so a dozen doughnuts and uh.... 4 coffees? Wanna go grab those,  _ intern?" _ He was still being friendly with his teasing, just like always. "See if you can't get the kid behind the counter to make Ed's coffee right."

Maureen snatched the dollar and rolled her eyes at him,    
“I’ll crawl over the counter and make it  _ myself _ if it will stop him being salty the whole morning.”   
  
When she came back out, balancing the whole order, she dropped the bag in the seat and handed the drink holder to Barry, “It’s this one, check and see if they got it right?”

He took the cup and took a small sip, making a face.    
  
"Yeah, that's right. I don't know how he drinks it like this." He handed it back. "Hold onto those until we get there... If they're not ready by  _ now, _ I'm gonna bang the damn door down."   
  
A few minutes later when they pulled up at the house, Edward was standing on the steps, yelling back in through the open door. He had a pair of sunglasses perched on top of his head and a lime green paisley shirt on over a pair of dark blue bermuda shorts.   
  
"Are you  _ coming? _ They're here, Lydia!" He tapped his foot. "If you're not out here in the next minute, I'm telling him to floor it and we're leaving you behind!"

“You can’t rush  _ perfection _ , Ed,” Lydia stepped out in a pink floral pantsuit, her immaculate beehive hair wrapped in a gauzy headscarf, and overly large sunglasses covering what was sure to be hours of makeup.    
  
“ _ Mo _ , darling, be a dear and get my luggage, you’re the  _ tops! _ ”   
  
Maureen meekly got out of the car to grab Lydia’s two baby blue suitcases as she walked to the car carrying nothing but her handbag.

Barry sighed a little and then got out to go grab Edward’s bags, giving him a smile. Edward hefted one bag himself and tossed the other to Barry. Tossing them into the trunk, Edward took the shotgun seat and reclined in it.    
  
“Morning, darling, ready for our whirlwind adventure?”   
  
Barry smiled and settled back into the driver’s seat.   
  
“Can’t wait, Ed.”    
  
Edward was periodically glancing over at their neighbor’s house, as though watching for something. Then, seeing a curtain close, he leaned over to kiss Barry.   
  
“There. Now, if only the girls wouldn’t take forever.”

Maureen rolled her eyes as she pushed Lydia’s bags into the trunk and slammed it shut, “I was ready to go at oh seven hundred this morning, and was just about to  _ walk _ here.”    
  
Hopping into the back seat next to Lydia, she shoved her own bag as far forward under Barry’s seat as it would go.

Barry laughed at that but Edward just rolled his eyes and gestured imperiously, only half joking. Barry smiled at him fondly and popped it into drive, pulling away perhaps a bit faster than he usually would. He didn’t like Edward’s neighbors one bit and if they got woken up by his jacked up engine, they could deal with it.   
  
“Next stop, rocket city!”

Maureen whooped and bounced in her seat, throwing her hands in the air as Barry hit the gas.    
  
Lydia smiled indulgently and held onto her headscarf. As if noticing Maureen’s bag for the first time, she leaned over and checked it,    
“Is that  _ all _ you’re bringing, Mo-Most?”    
  
Maureen smiled at her uncertainly, “Um, yes! I didn’t want to take up  _ too _ much room,” she laughed and brought out the coin purse her mother had given her, “and if I have an emergency, Momma gave me enough coin for  _ three _ laundromats!”    
  
Leaning forward into the front seat, she jangled it loudly, “I swear to  _ Jesus _ , BB, she thinks you’re going to stop at every pay phone between here and Canaveral!”

“If she’s anything like my mom was, she’s expecting it.”    
  
Barry snorted and then he tossed a map at Edward. It had a route plotted out in highlighter with notes in pen. Edward sputtered as he caught it and started to open his mouth, but Barry cut him off.   
  
“You got shotgun, you’re navigating, handsome.”   
  
“Fine, fine, but that also means I’m stopping this dog and pony show if I see something worth stopping for.” He skimmed the map. “You can get to the interstate alright, right, dear? Because I’ve got something exciting.” He pulled an envelope from his pocket and held it up. “The little monster finally wrote.”

Lydia squealed and bounced forward, “ _ EDDIE! _ Not  _ fair _ you keeping that to yourself!”    
  
Reaching a hand out, she batted for the envelope.

Edward pulled it away from her. “Lili, if I drop it, it’s your fault!”   
  
Then he tore the envelope open and flipped the letter out. Barry glanced over and grinned when he saw Keats’ messy handwriting. A picture fell out of the folded letter and Edward passed that back to Lydia. It was Keats in his uniform, standing at attention and looking strong and proud.    
  
Barry turned onto the interstate and reached one handed to shove at Edward.   
  
“Read it already. How’s he doing?”

Lydia cooed delightedly over the picture, running her finger along the edge, “Oh  _ nooooo _ , it took him eighteen years and his face  _ finally _ caught up to his ears.....”    
  
Her mouth trembled and she handed the picture to Maureen as she sniffed,    
  
“Fuck, Ed, if I ruin my mascara it’s your fault.”

"Even if he's got that  _ awful _ haircut. But tch, uniform regulations, so it can't be helped I guess." Edward skimmed the letter before he started reading, his voice catching slightly in his throat.    
  
"Dear Eddie and Lili, and BB and Mo because I bet you're there too. I'm officially allowed to send letters again as of today. I still can't tell you where I'm stationed though, but they said if you write to the return address this gets stamped with, it should make it to me just fine. I've been learning so much and we run a lot. You wouldn't believe how much stronger I've gotten. I climbed a wall yesterday in full kit. Straight up a wall with no magic or anything! And my CO says I'm one of the most accurate shots he's ever seen. Even if he made a joke about archery after. I had half a mind to tell him I've never even seen a bow, let alone shot one, but I can't mouth off to an officer." Edward scowled at that but he took a sip of his coffee, humming appreciatively at the taste, before continuing on. "I've still got a lot more of Basic left to go and I miss you all a lot, but I'm really glad that I decided to go. I know I'm going to do a lot of good out there and make you proud. I included a picture I got one of the other guys to take after we came back from a full dress event. I think it looks pretty good. I'm finally putting on some muscle and I'm going to be taller than you soon, Eddie. I'm hoping they'll let us go home for Candlenights so I can show you, but it’s going to depend on whether or not I get that much leave. If I can, I'll let you know. Love you all lots. Hugs and kisses, Keats."

Maureen smiled and handed the photo back to Lydia, who had taken her sunglasses off and was carefully wiping her eyes with a handkerchief,    
“Sounds like the only he could fit those ears was growing too tall for anyone to notice.”   
  
Lydia laughed at her, wetly and slipped the photo into her handbag, “and the haircut  _ is _ awful, Eddie, but at least he won’t be complaining about being taken for a girl anymore.”   
She sniffed and shook her head firmly, “music. Time for music. BB, I  _ know _ you’re dying to show off the radio in this rod.”    
  
Taking a pack of cigarettes of out her bag, Lydia lit one and stared out the side of the car.

Barry clicked the radio to life and cranked it, laughing as he realized a Beach Boys song was already playing.    
"So we're totally gonna get Keats something in Florida right? Like uh... like a t-shirt or something?"   
  
Edward leaned back in his seat, one hand sketching idle patterns in the air as they zipped down the highway.    
  
"Maybe something like that." Then he looked over at Barry, watching him with a proprietary smile. Then he made a frustrated noise and leaned over, reaching to put a hand on Barry's leg. "We are going to  _ Florida, _ Barry.  _ Florida, _ you know. The place where it gets  _ hotter _ than it does here. And you are wearing  _ jeans. _ Do I have to buy you shorts for you to wear them? Is that what needs to happen, darling? Because I will detour this trip into a Woolworth's to get you some new threads if I have to."   
  
Barry started laughing and rested a hand on Edward's.    
  
"I'm fine, Ed. And if I really want to change, I've got a pair of shorts. Remember the ones you made me buy last summer? I packed them. And I even packed trunks for the beach."   
  
Edward raised a hand skyward, almost like he was praying.   
  
"Thank  _ everything, _ show off your ass for once. Let me  _ enjoy it." _

Lydia groaned from the back seat, blowing a stream of smoke up as she tilted her head back,   
“That’s  _ IT _ , that there is the  _ one _ time I should be forced to hear  _ any _ references to BB’s ass.  _ AND _ -“ she leaned forward to hit Edward’s shoulder, “you had better have brought enough silencing mojo for ALL the hotel rooms. Save Mo’s poor virgin ears.”   
  
Maureen flushed and looked pointedly out her side of the car.    
“I don’t know what you all are gassin’ about, I’m deaf as a post back here.”

Edward rolled his eyes but he didn't take his hand off Barry's thigh.   
  
"More than enough to silence in both directions because I don't plan on being kept up by  _ whatever _ else is at these motels Barry picked."   
  
Barry was turning bright red and kept his eyes on the road. Then he looked at Lydia in the rearview and snapped back, "Sorry, Lyds, he wasn't house broke when I got him."

Lydia flopped back against the seat and waved a hand dismissively,   
“Better men than you have tried.”    
  
The drive was mostly uneventful, with a few stops along the way to refuel and sightsee. Maureen had carefully rationed her film rolls into ‘trip’ and ‘launch’ bags, but made sure to take enough photos of scenery to appease her mother, and several of everyone together and separately so that everyone got something.    
  
Even with the easy-going pace, she was  _ very _ tired by the time Barry pulled into the motel parking lot, enough to snap, “I only have  _ two _ hands!” When Lydia asked (told) her to get the luggage. Lydia’s ears went up and back, but laughed before Maureen could apologize, and patted her curly hair,    
  
“ _ Sorry _ , Mo-Most, forgot you had that redhead temper and all.”    
She did grab the smaller of her suitcases after that.

Barry winced a little, expecting Lydia's response to be much sharper than that. When it wasn't, he relaxed, and went to the trunk to grab his bag and one of Edward's.    
  
"Come on, let's go get check in. I'm beat."   
  
Edward followed along after him, the other bag slung over his shoulder.   
  
"You'll feel better after dinner. Second wind and all that. Maybe we can find a place around here that knows how to make a decent coffee. I know you're human and all, darling, but its still soooo  _ early~" _   
  
The flirting tone couldn't have been any more obvious, especially not with the coy look Edward was giving him. Barry chuckled quietly and waited for Edward to catch up with him, nudging him playfully, "You heard what your sister said. We gotta be good, Ed. At least while the girls are around."

Lydia didn’t bother following them inside, filing at her nails until Barry and Edward had checked them in.    
Maureen stood next to her, doing a few stretches to get the ache out of her legs, and watching the street next to the motel. It was lined with all sorts of stores and she itched to check what she could find in there that she couldn’t at home.    
  
“You’re legal to bar-hop, right Mo-Most?” Lydia spoke up suddenly, making her jump.    
  
“Um, n-no, not till December....”    
  
Lydia stared at her, considering, “Hm.... you’re pretty, and I can make your cheekbones sharper.” She nodded firmly, “we’ll find somewhere with a good selection, probably not a decent club for  _ miles _ , but there’s got to be a little bit of nightlife.”    
  
“I, um, are you sure? I can just stay in the room....”   
  
“Oh come ON, Mo, LIVE a little. If you’re splitsville next year, you should learn to flirt with boys who don’t still have hay behind their ears.  _ EDDIE, _ ” she called as they walked out with the keys, “find us a decent bar around here, that’s probably where the good food is anyway.”

Edward's eyes lit up at the idea as Barry just shook his head a little, smiling as he looked at the row of motel rooms. Then he tossed a set of keys to Lydia.   
  
"Okay... So you two are in uh... 14 and we're in 15. Right here."   
  
Snagging the other room key out of Barry's hand, Edward went towards the door, shouting back over his shoulder.   
  
"You make her look old enough and I'll magic up some proof while I check the phone book. Come on, hun, let's go settle into the room. I've got a sore muscle I'd  _ really _ like you to take a look at before dinner."   
  
A bright red blush crossed Barry's cheeks as he followed Edward into the room, very much not looking in the direction of the others.

When Maureen and Lydia emerged an hour later, Maureen’s hair had been brushed and sprayed until her curls had submitted to staying in one spot for more than a minute. She was wearing one of Lydia’s headscarves and a condescendingly changed and granted pair of heels that made her (shortened) skirt and top look flirty rather than professional.   
  
Lydia had contoured her cheeks and heavily darkened her eyelids, glancing over her with satisfaction before dipping a finger in a jar with a handmade label and running it under Maureen’s eyes,   
  
“ _There_ , now you just need to meet the bartender’s eyes and he’ll be convinced.”   
  
She was certainly _older_ looking. And Maureen quite liked the effect the heels had on her calves, but she also suspected Lydia just wanted her along for contrast.   
  
_Lydia_ had changed clothes completely; a bright purple high collared, mid-thigh, sleeveless dress, knee-high leather boots and her makeup was... well, slightly _more_ than Maureen’s.   
  
“Oh we’re going to have _fun_ ,” Lydia said as she hooked her elbow around Maureen’s and walked out into the motel parking lot.

When Barry and Edward emerged from their room a few minutes after Maureen and Lydia, Barry's curly hair was  _ distinctly _ more mussed than it had been before and Edward looked smug. He tossed a driver's license at Maureen with a grin. It already had her photo and particulars on it, and identified her as a year older than she was. Edward hadn't bothered to change, though he'd clearly taken the time to clean up and to talk Barry into a red plaid shirt and the aforementioned shorts.   
  
"Entirely indistinguishable from the real thing. Say thank you, dear. Anyone says a word about it being magic and you play dead on it, you got me? I'll deal with it." That handled, he looked at Lydia. "I found a place that should be good for dinner and a few kicks, at least. Called the White Rabbit and it's just down the road. Sounds like they might even have dancing."

Maureen managed a weak “Thanks...” as Lydia raised an expertly applied eyebrow at him, “will they call the pigs on us if you flirt too hard with the bartender?”

For once, Edward looked uncomfortable and he flicked a glance at Barry.   
"No way to know until we get there." Pause. "Party pooper."   
  
Barry shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to squash down the disappointment in his gut. He'd somehow convinced himself that this trip was going to be nothing but fun, certainly with no reasons to hide anything about themselves. And yet... and yet...   
  
"It's okay, we can just... you know... play square until we get back to the room. No big deal, Ed. It's fine."   
  
He was expecting the same sort of reluctant acceptance but instead Edward exploded, throwing his hands in the air. He looked furious for an instant and Barry pulled back as he shouted.   
  
"It is not  _ fine, _ Barry! It's so fucking far from  _ fine!" _   
  
But he went to the car, dropping into the passenger's seat and crossing his arms over his chest, fuming.

Lydia rolled her eyes, squeezing Maureen’s arm as she flinched from Edward’s explosion, “You like boys, right, Mo-Most?”   
  
Maureen blinked and followed her to the car, “Y-yes?”    
  
Lydia focused on her, “You have to shoot straight with me, Dolly, if you like girls I’m not gonna make you try boys.”    
  
“No I do! You just, you surprised me....” Maureen gulped, “yeah, I do.”    
  
“Wicked cool, makes things....” Lydia’s eyes wandered to the front seat as Barry sat down, “.....simpler.”

Barry was looking away, focused on driving to the address Edward had given him, watching the street signs and numbers carefully. He was also silently doing his times tables. He  _ hated _ it when Edward yelled like that. It didn't happen often but it scared him every time he did.  _ Two twos were four. Two threes were six... _ The traffic wasn't too bad and pretty soon they arrived at the White Rabbit. Barry gulped as he looked at the bar in front of them. It definitely had live music and dancing and food but he wasn't sure about the rest. There would be no way to know until they got inside. He looked over at Edward as he pulled into a space.   
  
"We could always go someplace else." He whispered.   
  
Edward grumbled under his breath through the whole drive about how it wasn't  _ like this _ forty years ago and  _ why the hell _ did we go fight a war in Europe if we were just going to bring all their  _ stupid _ ideas home? Why couldn't the  _ humans _ just stop it with their stupid ideas and listen to  _ literally everyone else _ who kept telling them they were wrong? But no. They had to be stubborn and hide bound and... and... The moment Barry parked, Edward got out of the car, slamming the door perhaps a bit too hard. Then he took a breath, turned, and smiled his most charming smile.   
  
"Don't worry, hun. We have problems, we just fade out. Wouldn't be the first time I've pulled that little maneuver."

Maureen had stayed very still the whole drive, which was preferable to flinching every time Edward’s voice had gone above a mutter. Her dad had taken her aside one night, after an extra beer and told her, with a seriousness she didn’t often see in him, to never walk out with a man who yelled.  
  
“And I don’t mean ‘shouting to his mates down the pub’, Maur, I mean  _ yellin’ _ , you’ll know it when you hear it. It never goes right, marryin’ a man like that, I know from your granda.”    
  
Lydia had kept their arms linked together and was eyeing the back of Edward’s head, lips tight. As he slammed the door, she finally let go of Maureen and hopped out, sliding under his arm, sweeping an imperious look at Barry,   
  
“BB, you keep an eye on Mo until we get a booth,” she shot Edward a hard glance. “-until we’ve  _ ordered. _ ”

Barry put an arm around Maureen's shoulders and shot Lydia a thumbs up.   
"Don't worry, I'll keep her out of trouble." He guided her towards the door, looking around for any signs of what sort of place they were walking into. "Right, Mo?" Then he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Don't worry about Ed. I... I get it. I'd be angry too, probably, but I don't... He remembers a better time, you know? I don't. So it's different. That's all. Everything's fine."   
  
Edward sighed and hugged Lydia around the shoulders and leaned against her for a moment with his eyes closed. He spoke softly in elvish as they approached the door.   
"[I really blew up that time, didn't I?" He sighed a little, contrite. "I'll apologize when we get back to the motel…]”

“[Buy Mo a drink while you’re in an apologizing sort of mood],” Lydia replied also in elvish, “[she’s all fluffed up like an anxious pigeon.]” 

When they got inside, Barry guided Maureen to a booth, listening to the music. It wasn't half bad. Kind of catchy. It sounded like it was probably a cover, but nothing he knew. It just had that feel. Dropping into a seat, he relaxed. They would get dinner and have some fun as long as it was alright and then head back. Once they were back in the room, everything would be fine. He smiled at Maureen.   
"You good, kiddo?"

Maureen gave Barry a firm smile and nodded, “just peachy keen, just.... just tired from the road is all.”   
  
Edward scanned the room for any evidence of what sort of place this was going to turn out to be. The live music was a small band with two guitarists and a drummer, one of the guitarists as the vocals. They weren't  _ bad _ but they certainly weren't something special. The entire place seemed to be heavily themed after Alice in Wonderland, with a large mural of the caterpillar on one wall. But that wasn't what Edward had noticed, he was looking at was the dwarf behind the bar. He'd learned to read the meanings in dwarven beards long since and he grinned now, shaking Lydia's shoulders a little as he nodded towards the bar. Dwarves had quite a few genders beyond the two that most humans were aware of and that particular braid pattern signified one of those. This was a safe place after all.

Lydia’s ears flicked high as she spotted the beard braidings and she squeezed Edward’s waist before she slunk over to the bar, smiling her most winning,    
  
“[A fine vein we’ve tapped in here, Zir]” She hummed at hir in Darrow.    
  
Ze raised hir eyebrows (as much as one could tell) and responded in English,    
  
“Out of towners, then?”

Edward leaned against the bar, laying on the charm.   
"That's right. On a little road trip headed south. I  _ love _ what you've got going on here." He flicked his fingers at the decor. "Really great. I don't suppose we could order some drinks and maybe see a menu?"

The bartender gave them a second glance over and flicked hir eyes at Maureen and Barry, “Those yours?”    
  
At Lydia’s shrug and nod, zie held out a menu but didn’t let go when Edward took it,    
  
“Ground rules; we’re in with the local constabulary, but we don’t make a fuss, makes it easier on ‘em. No matin’ calls outside, keep it low key here.”    
  
Zie nodded to another dwarf at the far end of the bar, “If you want to do some meet and greets, Zara will let you in the back room after you eat; they have ribbons for who’s interested in who to save time.”  Zie let go of the menu, “I can take your drinks now.”  
  
Edward nodded. "Don't worry, we're acquainted with the concept." He glanced back at them, wondering a little how Maureen would handle herself but... Well, it would be fine. "Let me see... an applecart for Mo, she'll like that. A Manhattan for me..." He skimmed the bar back and sighed, recognizing one of the bottled beers. "One of those. I'd try to pronounce it but I know perfectly well I'd butcher it and that would just insulting to you and my man both. And whatever my sister wants."

“Tequila sunrise; thank you, Eddie.” Lydia scanned the menu and nodded, “We’ll split a braised rabbit for the table, and I  _ suppose _ we ought to get extra potatoes for the mice over there.”    
  
She gave the bartender a sunny smile as she handed the menu back.

"You know how Barry loves his potatoes." Edward smiled indulgently, then he frowned slightly and glanced back towards Barry, thinking. "This may be an absolutely ridiculous question and forgive me if it is, but there's no dairy in any of that, right?"

“Cheese is optional on the potatoes, rabbit’s made with wine.” Zie wrote down their order and raised an eyebrow at them again, “I’ll assume you  _ don’t _ want it, then?”    
  
“Best not, we  _ do _ appreciate it,” Lydia accepted the tequila sunrise and apple cart glasses as they suddenly appeared next to the bartender’s elbow, “Good gracious, we’ll have to come back here, Ed.”  
  
Edward paid, handing over the cash with a smile.   
  
"Thanks for understanding about the cheese. You wouldn't  _ believe _ how many places give us a hard time about that and he gets so sick. It’s absolutely awful. Keep the change, darling. You've been a treat."   
  
As Edward settled their bill, Lydia sashayed back to the booth where Barry and Maureen were waiting, “Good news, darlings, we can kiss any ol’ person we want to, as long as we do that in the back room!”    
  
Sliding Maureen her drink, she tilted an ear at Barry, “Ed’s coming with your beer.”   
  
Barry had given Lydia a skeptical look when she'd said beer but he lit up when he saw the bottle Edward sat in front of him. All traces of tension in him were gone now as Edward sat beside him, close enough that their legs were touching.    
  
Barry raised his bottle with a grin. "Anyone got anything good for a toast?"

Maureen raised her glass uncertainly, “to absolutely forgetting to call my mother, and I’m not fucking doing it now,”    
  
Lydia tittered and patted her arm, “there you go, Mo-Most,  _ that’s _ the spirit!”

Barry laughed and clinked his bottle against her glass. "To  _ definitely _ never telling your mother that this happened."   
  
Edward chuckled quietly and raised his drink. "And to never letting her know I  _ helped." _

“To the little bird spreading her wings!” Lydia finished and clinked her drink against Maureen’s.    
  
“And I hope they’re as fast with the food as they were with these drinks, I’m  _ wasting _ away....”

A few minutes later, a younger dwarf, probably just barely not a teenager, came over and set the food and several small plates down on the table.    
  
"If you need anything else, just lemme know, okay?"   
  
Then they scooted off, leaving them to enjoy their dinner. Barry looked at the plate and then at Edward and Lydia.    
  
"Alright, I know you two ordered, so walk us through what uh... what we've got here."

“Braised rabbit,” Lydia answered, leaning over the platter and wafting the steam into her face as she inhaled. It was the happiest look on her face that Maureen could ever remember seeing, “I haven’t had this since the last time we were in France. Oh and they  _ didn’t _ skimp on the wine either, Corellon Larethian, I ask blessings upon this  _ house _ .” Picking her fork up, she pointed at the large mound of roasted potatoes, “I assume you can recognize  _ those _ well enough.”

Barry rolled his eyes, used to her antics but then he smiled as he felt Edward reach for his hand under the table.    
  
"No, Lyds, I've never seen a potato before in my entire damn life." His tone was deadpan and Edward laughed quietly   
  
Edward picked up a knife and held it out to Lydia so she could serve. ( "You were always better at this part." ) It really was a delicious rabbit, even better than what they'd eaten in France. Admittedly, things had been... Well, they'd been in France at an interesting time. He rested his head on Barry's shoulder for a moment.   
  
"So, we're going to the little bash in the back when we're done eating, right?"

“Of  _ course _ we are, I simply  _ must _ see what kind of moves Mo has.”    
  
Maureen looked up, a slightly panicked look in her eyes; she had  _ just _ taken a huge bite of hot potato, and she had finished a good third of her drink before the food had gotten there.    
  
Unable to speak, she looked frantically at Lydia then almost pleadingly at Barry, then back to Lydia who waved a hand, “Not  _ very _ long, you two need your sleep and such, but enough to test drive the dance floor.”

Barry laughed a little at the look on Maureen's face, "Don't worry, it'll be fun and we'll all be there." He kept his tone reassuring and he really did mean it. "And if what uh... if what Lyds said is right, you probably won't even need to worry about most of the folks in there. But if you get in trouble, just find one of us. It shouldn't be too hard." He nudged Edward and Edward batted his hand away, grinning. "I mean, as if you could miss the lime green menace here from anywhere. I bet... I bet you could see him from a low earth orbit."

Maureen still looked uncertainly at Lydia, “I- I mean, if it’s all  _ guys _ in there, how....?”    
  
Lydia waved a hand, “dwarves have this system of ribbons, ‘looking for girls’, ‘looking for guys’, ‘don’t give a fuck as long as they fuck’, it’s all very  _ civilized _ .” She swirled the last of her ice and glanced at Barry and back to Maureen, “even have ‘happily not looking’ If that’s your choice.”

"Oh good, I was wondering how they uh..."   
"Good, because I don't plan on sharing."   
  
Barry and Edward both spoke at once and Barry laughed when he realized what Edward was saying. He squeezed Edward's hand and smiled. He leaned in and whispered softly.    
"Don't worry, Ed. All yours."

Maureen flushed red hot, taking a sip of her drink, trying to cool her face, “I.... I think I’ll just start with, uhm, with men.... for now.”    
  
Lydia clapped, “ _ That’s _ the spirit, finish your root veg, we’re going  _ dancing! _ ”

Barry looked at Maureen for a moment and then shook his head.   
"Now look what you've done, Lyds. She's already fried. And the night barely started. Mo, do you even know what you're drinking?"   
  
"It's an apple cart." Edward looked slightly offended. "Those aren't  _ that _ strong."

"It tasted good," Maureen put the backs of her hands against her cheeks, trying to stop the flush, "It um...I didn't  _ taste _ much booze in it?"   
  
Lydia sighed, "Eddie, you  _ clyde _ , you know dwarves don't stint on the booze in their meals."   
Leaning over, she pushed a glass of water closer to Maureen, "Finish that, Dolly, and we'll powder our noses before we hit the floor."

"Well, I'm sorry I assumed she had a tolerance? I was basing it off every other point of data I've got for how humans handle a drink!" His data points were largely Barry, people they'd met running moonshine during prohibition, and the entire sovereign nation of France. Understandably, his data set was a bit skewed. Barry finished the last of his beer and shook his head.    
  
"Shouldn't've let our girl drink on an empty stomach. Mo, make sure you get enough water in you. At least... at least one an hour, until bedtime, okay? Because you are absolutely not going to want the hangover you'll have in the morning otherwise."

Maureen nodded, sipping the water, "I don't...I feel fine, really! Just a bit, um, just a bit warm...   
  
Lydia shrugged, "Well, it will certainly be enough to get you loose. Maybe not  _ too _ loose, you're coming back to the hotel with us, Mo-Most."   
  
Maureen rolled her eyes and finished the water, "No,  _ thank _ you, I'll keep my skirt on."   
  
Once Lydia had chivvied her in and out of the restroom, Maureen found herself staring in somewhat fuzzy bewilderment at a box holding variously covered ribbons, labeled in what didn't quite look like Darrow and wasn't quite scientific notation.    
Leaning past her, Lydia grabbed a red labeled one and handed it to her, "Guys only," lifting a purple one, she pinned it on her chest and smiled, mysteriously. Glancing behind them at Edward and Barry, she lifted two chartreuse ribbons and held them out, eyebrow lifted at Edward, "....and 'no thanks'."

Edward took both ribbons, giving Lydia a sharp look. He pinned one to the front of his shirt and then turned to pin the other one on Barry’s shirt.   
  
“You girls have fun,” he said, reaching for Barry’s hand. “But I’m going to go get my man very drunk and dance.”   
  
Barry gave Maureen one last thumbs up as Edward led him off.    
“If you need help, we’re... we’re right here. Remember that.”

Maureen nodded and gave him a tentative smile as Lydia once again looped their elbows and smiled winningly at the dwarf opening the door for them, slipping them several quarters as Barry and Edward headed downstairs ahead of them.    
  
The stairs were quite solid; made of stone rather than concrete. Maureen noted there were twice as many than one might find in a human-made dwelling; these were shorter at the edges, designed for much shorter legs. There were several paintings of a rabbit with a pocket watch jumping down a hole, being followed by a young girl- not human, as Alice was usually depicted, but a Halfling.    
  
As Lydia pulled her onward and through the door at the bottom of the stairs, she couldn’t hold back a gasp at the dance hall.    
  
It was  _ cavernous _ ; chandeliers filled with dancing, magical lights of various colors spilled and twinkled over a floor made not of wood, but a smooth black stone. Not that one could see much of the floor, it was covered in people of various races and- yes, colors. Maureen’s eyes flicked to the quartet of colored women on the stage, their ears slightly pointed with some elven ancestry. But they weren’t the only ones; she spotted two fully human colored men leaning on the bar, chatting with a Halfling man in a way that seemed....

“How do they keep everyone hearing the  _ noise? _ ” she leaned into Lydia’s side, eyes still flicking to the dancing bodies, the painted murals on the walls that seemed to move in the flickering lights, the women singing on stage.    
  
Lydia laughed and twiddled her fingers, “ _ MAGIC~ _ Some heavy mojo on that staircase, Mo-Most. Now-“    
  
Her gaze sharpened as she led her to a bar stool and turned them to watch the dance floor,   
“I’ll take you for a turn out there, but see that copper dragonborn? Sorry, Dolly, soon as they see me, I’m splitsville for a while. That tall glass of water with the blue threads, though. You give him one of your pretty head tilts and a smile and he’ll keep you company through a song. Ready?”    
Without waiting for Maureen’s squeak of possible agreement, she swept them into a break of the press of bodies.

Barry didn't notice which way Lydia and Maureen had gone, too occupied laughing as Edward tugged him towards the dance floor. The music down here was a lot better and Edward had a particular gleam in his eye, one that Barry knew very, very well. Honestly, Barry barely noticed most of what was going on, didn't notice the whispers and the pointed looks from the other high elves as they noticed Edward and Barry, eyes flicking over the ribbons pinned to their shirts and their interlaced hands.    
  
Edward noticed the eyes on them and clenched his jaw, trying to ignore it. It bit him that they would dare judge  _ him _ for this. They didn't know Barry, hadn't been there and hadn't seen how smart he was, how strong the magic in his veins was, how he fought back and how loyal he was once his loyalty was given. They didn't know a single blessed thing about Barry Bluejeans.    
  
Pulling Barry with him, Edward found a spot on the dance floor where he couldn’t feel those eyes on them and relaxed. They were going to have  _ fun, _ and the Lone Wolf take those others.

Maureen’s feet at least knew what they were doing as Lydia turned her around the floor once, making sure they were seen. She didn’t notice the flick of Lydia’s fingers that made the half elf she’d pointed out stand up straight and look around, until Lydia turned her and pushed a hand in the small of her back,    
  
“A pretty head tilt and a smile, Mo-Most, gets you most places in life,” and suddenly she was gone, sliding through the press of bodies to catch the hand of the copper Dragonborn, who grinned at her with all their teeth.    
  
The half elf stepped towards her, hand outstretched and a challenge in his smile; Maureen swallowed, but tilted her chin and flashed a grin at him anyway. His hand was warm and he was a good dancer, and Maureen was warm and light from the drink and the wine in her rabbit and was soon laughing at how he spun her.    
  
This was  _ easy _ .

Barry’s hands were on Edward’s waist and they were dancing close. Barry wasn’t an amazing dancer, but they’d been stepping out long enough that he could at least put his feet in the right place and have some fun. Edward would tease him later, but they both loved nights like this where they could just be together and not worry about anything else.    
  
Edward laughed as Barry stumbled on the next spin and pulled him back in close.   
  
“Don’t tell me one beer was too much, handsome.”   
  
Barry snorted and leaned in. “More like not enough.”    
  
Edward kissed him lightly. “We can always fix that. There’s a bar  _ right there.” _

Maureen’s legs were aching by the third song, but she was still smiling and feeling light and happy. Her partner pulled her close as the song drew to a close,    
  
“Name’s Jay. what’s your handle, pretty bird?”    
  
“M-Mo,” Maureen stumbled a bit, the flashing murals reminding her of late night stories about fairyland and giving out your full name.    
  
He laughed as if she had said something funny, his hand low on her waist, “Want to sit this one out, Dolly? I’ll buy you a drink.”    
  
Maureen opened her mouth to decline and saw Lydia spinning past with another high elf. And who  _ knew _ where Barry and Edward were. 

“You buyin’ sounds just fine.” She tried to give him the head tilt and smile Lydia kept referencing, and he laughed, so it must have worked.    
  
As he drew her to the bar, she spotted Edward and Barry a few seats down and relaxed. Jay turned to her after flagging down the bartender,   
  
“What’s your poison, pretty bird?”   
  
“An apple cart, thanks hunk,” Maureen tried to say it breezily, promising herself she would drink it slowly, not get  _ too _ blitzed.   
  
He winked at her and gave the order,    
“So I haven’t seen you around, Mo, and I notice  _ all _ the pretty skirts around here.”    
  
Maureen accepted her glass and sipped, “I’m traveling with some friends to Cape Canaveral, we just got lucky picking this place.”   
  
Jay lifted his drink in salute, “Here’s to more good luck tonight, pretty bird.”

Barry had a fresh beer in hand and Edward was practically in his lap, despite having his own stool. The bartender set another Manhattan in front of Edward and he took it with thanks and a large tip.    
  
"So, I was thinking that if the girls look like they're doing alright, you and me could cut it back to the room. Have our own little bash. How's that sound, BB?"   
  
"I thought you wanted to dance, Ed?"   
  
"That too, that too. Just... maybe not all night." He chuckled quietly and ran his fingers through Barry's hair. Then he stopped, spotting Maureen and the half elf she was flirting with further down the bar. Edward frowned just slightly and looked for Lydia in the crowd. There she was. The gods only knew how many people she'd already danced with, he thought with a sigh. And she wasn't paying a bit of attention to their girl. Well, Maureen looked like she was handling herself alright. As long as that whiff of magic he could sense wasn't coming from over there, everything would be just fine. Barry was leaning into his touch and Edward grinned, going back to paying attention to him.

Maureen was almost positive she was having fun. Jay was clever in telling stories that invited her to share her own and laughed in all the right spots, and she felt a surge of pleasant warmth any time he touched her hand or said her name.    
  
It had been another two songs when he leaned over to tuck a curl that had finally escaped Lydia’s  determined hairspraying, and whispered in her ear;    
  
“There’s some rooms down below us, if you’d like to kick it for an hour or two, Mo.”    
  
She blinked, mind fighting past the alcohol, “Oh! Fuck, um.... sorry, we just came for the dancing, we’re all going back to the motel after this-“    
  
He leaned in further, “Doesn’t have to be all night, pretty bird,”    
  
Maureen’s mind spun; that might be alright, wouldn’t it? Barry and Edward were busy, Lydia wasn’t done dancing, it might be fun to just-    
  
“ _ Hey! _ ” another of the bartenders was walking towards them, her beard bristling, “ _ Jason Cooper _ , we’ve  _ warned _ you about this!”

Edward had already moved, one hand on Maureen’s shoulder and the other crackling with necrotic energies.   
  
“If you think I didn’t smell your spellwork, halfway, you are quite incorrect.” His hair was puffed out and his eyes were narrowed with fury. He looks very much like a hissing cat about to strike. “If the young lady isn’t interested in your charms  _ without _ magic, then you should back off and take no for an answer. Particularly when she has  _ friends _ who are feeling protective.”

Jay turned from protesting to the bartender to shoot a hate-filled look at Edward, “I  _ never _ needed-“    
  
“Maureen,  _ look _ at me,” the voice was low in Maureen’s ear and she turned her head before she had quite registered that it was Lydia’s voice, Lydia’s arm going around her waist, and Lydia’s thumb running along her cheek as she stared hard into her face.    
Turning, Lydia returned Jay’s glare with interest, her ears pinned back and eye dark with icy rage.    
  
“ _ Strange _ you say that, she’s been whammied pretty fucking  _ hard _ , my  _ dear _ .”

Edward's rage was an icy chill swimming through his veins and he mentally twisted his power around the tendril that tied him to Barry's endless core of magic energy, tapping into it just enough to fuel a spell to lock this Jay fellow in place on the stool.   
  
"Can you be a dear, sister, and remove the enchantment on her before I decide  _ precisely _ how I'm going to deal with our new friend here. Maybe take an eye... Maybe a few decades of your life..." He pointed one finger, a dark miasma of magic coalesced around the end of it. "Perhaps a finger... Or some of your memories... Or just mar those pretty looks of yours so you can't pull this particular trick again. I think I like that one. How does that sound to you,  _ friend?" _   
  
Barry had gotten up by now, his drink and Edward's abandoned on the bar as he went to help Maureen.   
  
"Come on. Let's just take her back to the room." He had noticed that Edward wasn't using names and wasn't sure why precisely, but he was going to follow that example until he had a reason not to. "I'm still good to drive and I don't think she should be here anymore."

“The establishment thoroughly discourages uses of magic by patrons,  **sir** ,” the bartender’s voice was clipped and cut through the growing silence around them, “if you wish to take your charge home, we will of course be delighted to refund your drinks and offer a chitty for a free meal on a possible return, but this is now  _ establishment _ business.”    
  
She met Edward’s gaze calmly, “you can leave.  _ We _ live here.”    
  
“[ _ Brother-] _ ” Lydia’s voice was low and in elvish as she ran her hand over Maureen’s hair, unwinding the layers of charm Jay had placed on her.

Edward clenched his jaw and let the magic around his hand dissipate. Then he turned to the bartender. "Don't worry about the refund, darling,  _ you _ didn't do any harm. But I really think you should throw  _ him _ out with the trash where he belongs."   
  
Then he turned towards the door, fury in every step and his usually level and still ears pinned back and quivering with fury. Barry watched him for a moment, looked at the look on Maureen's face as Lydia pulled the layers of enchantment away to reveal the truth, looked at Lydia and recognized the particularly frost chilling her expression. Barry leaned heavily on one of the man's shoulders, his voice low.   
  
"Buddy, you should be glad that I'm gonna be listen to what the nice bartender is  _ implying _ and not the uh... the letter of their words because if  _ I _ broke your fucking nose, I wouldn't be using magic to do it." Then he turned away and offered Maureen a hand up. It was time to go.

Maureen felt like she suddenly broke through an ocean of cotton wool;  the world came back into focus and stereophonic sound, and Lydia was cupping her chin and staring into her face with a small smirk of satisfaction,    
  
“ _ There _ you are,  _ much _ better, darling.”    
  
“Wh-what....” the memories of the last hour washed over her without the fuzzy golden sense of blithe happiness, and Maureen started to shake, “Did I-?”    
  
“You’re  _ fine _ , Most, just fine, we’re going to take you back to the room and put you to bed now.”    
  
Maureen took Barry’s hand, clutching it and leaning into Lydia’s side as they headed for the door.    
  
Just before they entered the enchanted hallway, there was a rolling of magic in the stones under their feet, and the bartender’s voice echoed across the dance hall;   
  
**”We offer you no salt, no drink, no bread of ours, begone from our place and never darken our doors, Jason Cooper.”**   
  
“I like them here, very firm.” Lydia murmured as they walked into the hallway and the sound cut out like a radio flipped off.

Edward grinned at that. It was a cat’s grin, all teeth and satisfaction, “Oh I definitely like them. We should come back if we’re in the area.” Then he turned, ears still flicked back with barely contain rage, “Mo, how are you? Did he hurt you? Because I  _ will _ happily wait for him in the parking lot and give him a lesson if it’s needful.”   
  
Barry met Edward’s eyes and shook his head a little. He just wanted to get back to the room. Sure, he’d have to found a nice outlet for Edward’s clear anger, but they had some options. Maybe a shower would help.   
  
Edward just ignored him, waiting for Maureen’s answer.

“I-“ Maureen wobbled in her heels and put a hand to her head, “I don’t  _ think _ so.... we danced, and he bought me a drink, and we talked and he... he wanted me to go to the private rooms with him... I think that’s all that happened...”    
  
She looked pleadingly at Lydia, “I don’t think I left the hall, I just want to  _ sleep.... _ ”    
  
Lydia nodded, helping her into the car, “I’ve got something that’ll help that mojo hangover, but we should get it in you soon. A shower will help too.”    
  
Glancing at Edward, Lydia switched to elvish, “[you have a marker on him, don’t think I didn’t notice. Wait till they’re asleep if you want to take his eyes.]”


	11. Chapter 11

Barry pulled up in front of a house and double checked his phone to be sure he had the right address. It felt so odd to be pulling up in front of Maureen Miller's house and not have it being the same little post-war construction cape he remembered from so long ago. It wasn't even the same neighborhood. But then, she'd always wanted to get out. He hoped she had. He stretched as he got out of the car and went to grab the six-pack he'd stowed in the trunk (after Lup had calmly explained to him that they had laws about cars and alcohol these days. Things that made perfect sense when he thought about it, but he'd just never considered) before heading to the door. He knocked and took a second to send a very quick text while he waited.   
  
_ Lup, Just got to Maur's. I'll let you know if I'm too gone to drive home later. Love you, Barry _

 

The reply was a series of heart and drink emojis followed by  _ Have fun!!!!!! _ as the door opened and Maureen blinked at him.    
  
She was slightly shorter than she had been, girlish gangliness long since turned to heaviness at the waist and hips. But her hair was as red as ever and her eyes sharper.    
  
For a moment she stood, looking like she had seen (and she technically was) a ghost. Barry matched her memories and pictures, unchanged at all.    
  
“Barry-“ She reached out a hand to give him a welcoming hug, the other going across her mouth as his name choked off.    
“Shit, sorry, you just-“

 

Barry jammed his phone back into his pocket and returned the hug.    
  
"I know, I know, it's... it's really fucking weird seeing everything and everyone changed and... It's gotta be even more wild seeing me exactly the same, huh?"   
  
He held up the six-pack with a grin. "I brought the good stuff. How have you been? What's happened? I mean, shit, we've talked but like... Do you really have a kid? Because  _ that _ I am not going to believe until I see proof."

 

Maureen laughed, squeezing him again and sniffing,    
“Oh... oh, Lucas is out back in the workshop. He’s probably going to remember he’s hungry in about an hour, and he’s under strict instructions not to bother me for anything tonight, but if you want to see the workshop....?”

 

“Might as well meet him just in case we uh... we get so wild that I do end up sleeping here. I’ve been informed that I’m not even to  _ think _ about driving unless it’s been a solid hour since my last drink. Apparently there are  _ laws _ about that. And we haven’t run tests to see if I actually can still get drunk.” He paused then, laughing a little. “You know, don’t want him to wander in here and find some weirdo asleep on your couch.”

 

Maureen scoffed, patting his shoulder as she led him through the house, “Honestly, I’d be more worried he’d try to look at your harness without asking. I swear, I did my best with that man, but....” she shook her head, dismissing the thought, “through here.”    
  
"Given that uh... that we have to set up wards in order for me to take off outside the house and stay... you know... existing... I'd prefer he didn't."

 

The house was small, and once they stepped through the kitchen and through the back door it became clear why; the property was taken up by a two story free-standing garage, with heavy doors and blinking light panels next to them. Maureen placed her palm on one and it beep cheerily as the door swung open,    
  
“Lucas! Barry’s here!”

  
Barry followed her, looking around with an easy smile on his face. He raised a hand in greeting to the young man seated at one of the work benches, trying to decide how much he could see Maureen in Lucas.

 

Lucas pushed up a pair of jewelers glasses with increasingly smaller lenses on it to stare at Barry from his work bench. His face with its look of sharp scrutiny was very like Maureen’s, and his hair just as curly, even if his was a tighter coil and a reddish brown to her ginger.    
  
After staring Barry up and down and focusing intensely on his harness straps, he glanced at Maureen,    
  
“Is it that late already?”    
  
She raised an eyebrow at him until he looked back at Barry and managed a “-hello.”

 

Barry glanced at Maureen, eyebrows raised in a silent question. Then he shrugged.    
  
"It was nice to meet you... I uh... I guess we'll just get out of your hair then..."   
  
And he turned to head back into the house, glancing at Maureen again questioningly. The moment they got out of hearing range, he turned to her.   
  
"So... is he normally like that, or uh...?"

 

Maureen sighed and ran her hands over her hair,    
“The problem with going to college for robotics and engineering as a certified genius is that  _ apparently _ there are some people who will teach you that geniuses don’t need to bother with things like  _ social niceties _ .”    
  
Her lips quirked bitterly, “but that’s my issue to deal with; you want tostadas?”

 

"Oh  _ fun, _ what school? I wanna make sure I personally go slap them. You know, for old times."   
  


“MIT  _ certainly _ , couldn’t do anything less. 

 

Barry snorted. "That explains that then. Good school but... mmmm. What's the word... Arrogant? Righteous? Yeah, that one."

  
He set the six-pack down on the counter. "I've decided, by the way, that my favorite facet of living in the future is that uh... that I can get shit from Europe like its nothing." He held out one of the bottles and grinned broadly. It was his favorite unpronounceable German beer. "And I would love tostadas."

  
Maureen smiled at him, still feeling shaky, but pushing it aside to deal with later,    
  
“The world is a lot smaller now, certainly. Have you considered traveling anywhere else yet? See what else has changed for yourself?”   
  
He leaned against the counter, sliding right back into the old patterns.   
  
"I hadn't really thought about it yet. I uh... I mean, Julia told me this thing can handle an airplane." He tapped the strap of the harness. "So I guess I could. I've been watching launches on uh... youtube. Those SpaceX folks? They're doing some real good work. Wonder what they'd say if I'd showed up. Think they'd still take my old ID?"   
  
He chuckled, clearly meaning the last as a joke.

 

She winced and chuckled as she pulled two large glasses out of the freezer and set them in front of him, “never hurts to try..... if that’s who you’d want to work with.” She grinned and reached into a cupboard for a bottle of whiskey, labeled ‘Dair Ghaelach’ and set it next to the case of beer.    
“Just don’t mention  _ my _ name. The CEO’s had me blocked on Twitter for nearly a year.”

 

"Oh really? What'd he do? I'm assuming it was a special kind of stupid if you went off on him."   
  


“He crowd funded a couch for his personal use, and I had a thirty tweet thread about what he could do with his personal billions and still never have to work again.”    
  
Maureen rolled her eyes, and started frying the tortillas.    
Barry had made a note to look up crowdfunding and check out this guy's twitter... thing. Figure out exactly what she was talking about.  He sighed a little and pulled a seat over, sitting and pulling his feet up onto the bottom rungs. He never had sat in a chair right in his entire life and he certainly wasn't going to start now that he was dead.    
  
"One thing I'm disappointed in with the whole future thing... We made it to the moon and then... Nothing. Just... nothing. Didn't do a single useful thing with it. Could've kept going. Mars... Whatever. Colonies. Getting normal people into space. Instead? We've got like..." He sighed. "I guess it’s just hard to believe we did all that work to put one jock-ass flyboy on the moon with a flag and then fucking called it good."

  
“It’s a real shame, isn’t it? But on the other hand, we’ve sent probes outside the solar system, so it’s not all  _ nothing _ .”   
  
That got them to talking about Maureen and Lucas’s work with the ISS and satellites; coding artificial intelligences and designs for different jobs.    
  
There was a part of Maureen that was still certain this couldn’t be real, was insisting that the thing she’d seen on the floor fifty years ago was  _ all _ that had happened. People didn’t come BACK from that!    
  
Since that part of her brain had been magically squashed down for decades, she let it scream without paying it too much mind. 

 

Talking about everything that had happened with someone he'd known before, someone who knew him when he was alive and had known about his death... was distinctly odd. Almost uncomfortable, but at the same time, this was Maureen. She was still the same little bird he'd looked out for and been friends with so long. That hadn't changed.   
  
Two thirds of the way through the six pack, during a lull in their conversation about Barry’s harness, Maureen took a swallow of her beer and asked with a note of real concern in her voice;    
  
“So how are.... how are you getting along with Lup? I’m afraid I don’t know her, never had her in any of my classes, though Lucretia speaks fondly....”    
  
She tapped the table, not meeting his eyes,    
“....she treating you okay?”   
  
He looked up at the question, setting his beer down.   
  
"Lup is... She's amazing, Mo. And... Look, I know I used to say the same thing about Ed..." He grimaced.  _ "Edward. _ But... Shit, we talk about things and... and I'm in therapy these days. Don't worry, I promise I didn't get myself another Edward. She's good for me."   
  
He laughed then and took a drink.   
  
"We actually had a fight. Like a full on both of us yelling fight over the wallpaper, of all fucking things, and then... get this  _ talked it over _ and she  _ apologized. _ Like real apology. Actual, real, honest apology. For a minute, I couldn't... I couldn't even believe it was really happening."

 

Maureen laughed- ....that is, her mouth made the sound associated with laughing, and threw back the last of her beer,   
  
"You mean she didn't get mad at you for being upset and then later you'd find a small trinket on your desk?"   
  
She grimaced, "I'm sorry, that was....that was unnecessary."

 

"Oh no, go right ahead. We can have a nice bitch session just like we  _ should've _ back then when I should've dumped his ass when it was yelling before it got to murder, instead of eating up all the apple butter he was laying on me like an idiot."   
  
He downed the last of his beer and set it on the counter.    
  
"What really gets me though is that I don't know how much of all of that was a bit. How much was he just putting me on so he could get some fucking tail and  _ apparently _ steal the magic I didn't even know I've got."

 

Maureen stared at him for a moment, then got up and rummaged in one of her top cupboards, coming up with two whiskey glasses, slightly dusty, rinsed them out and placed them on the table between them.   
  
"There. My old dad's set. We can kick it old school and trash talk the  _ fuck _ out of them, as they deserve."   
  
She uncorked the bottle of whiskey and poured them each a finger full.   
  
"So, did you know they made me forget about you? Almost entirely for a whole year? Moved away, lived in San Francisco, had a rolickin' fab time, except for-" she waved a hand "-All these fucking  _ nightmares _ I was having. Strange how I couldn't recall why I'd keep remembering a man dead on the floor."   
  
She tilted her head back and downed the whiskey like it was a shot.

 

Barry pulled the second glasses towards him.   
  
"Frisco, huh? Always wanted to go see if it was as much fun as everyone said. I might see if Lup wants to take a trip. Sometime."    
  
He stared into the glass for a long moment, swirling it around the glass.   
  
"Fifty years. I was alone and hiding from... from drunk high school kids and amateur ghost hunters for fifty years while Edward used me as a  _ fucking _ battery. That's what all that was for, you know. He was using me as a magic battery and... and pulling the power out through a circle on the floor in the basement."   
  
He tossed back his own whiskey and shook his head.   
  
"I feel bad wasting the good shit, Mo."

 

"Fuck it, BB, I was saving this for a special occasion anyway," she poured them each another finger full and swirled hers, "If we get through the heavy stuff first, then we can get  _ so _ petty. Jesus on the  _ cross _ do I have petty...."   
  
She stared at the ceiling for a moment before shaking her head and snorting, "Do you know  _ how many _ FUCKING times Lydia would invite me somewhere so I could make her look better by contrast?"

 

Barry snorted. "Do numbers go that high? And remember how she would put on that act like she was... was being so nice? As if she actually cared? I'd say I can't believe I used to fall for that, but I mean... I was fucking her brother, so that ship done sailed. Or... or remember the time she invited us both along and turns out she just wanted me to drive because Ed was gone for the weekend?"   
  
He shook his head.   
  
"Keats was the only member of that family worth a damn."

 

"He was, and it was such a  _ goddamn _ waste...."   
  
She looked into her glass, "His funeral was the only time I can be sure I was seeing their real selves, honestly...."   
  
She took a sip rather than a slug and set her glass down carefully before burying her face in her hands,   
  
".....we didn't even give you a godsdamned  _ funeral _ , BB.....they made sure no one cared enough and....and I didn't even  _ know _ ....."   
  
Her voice broke and she pulled back enough to wipe her face,    
"I didn't fucking  _ know _ until Lucretia calls me three months ago and says 'hey, do you remember someone named 'Barry Bluejeans', and I said 'huh, I guess I do', and I'm trying not to come unglued in front of all these strangers talkin' 'bout you being there this whole time-"   
  
Her voice choked off into another sob.

 

Barry set his glass down and moved around to hug her tightly, muttering a quiet apology for probably being cold.   
  
"None of that's your fault, Mo. You hear me? None of it. That's all on  _ them. _ And..." He paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "And it worked out in the end, you know? Probably in the weirdest way possible, but it did. I'm not gonna look this... this whatever I've got in the mouth. Ed may've been trying to kill me but..." Barry actually laughed a little. "All of this? A chance to work through all the shit he put me through, to see you again, to meet Lup? I don't think he realizes what he gave me. That and I definitely broke his pretty little cheekbones." Barry moved back, looking at her while he reached for his glass.   
  
"Of course, the asshole broke out of spooky jail or whatever. I don't know where the fuck Taako's boyfriend works but that place. Spooky necromancer jail." He grinned, pride in his expression. "Apparently Lup socked him a good one."

 

Maureen laughed wetly, rubbing at her face and picking her glass up for another sip,    
"Well, that  _ alone _ makes her better for you in my books..." she stared off into the middle distance for a moment, remembering Lup's face as she cried over Barry being alone for half a century. Shaking herself, she offered the bottle to Barry again,   
  
"Sorry, we were bitching. I've gone all sentimental in my old age."

 

"I'm still older than you and don't you forget it." He topped his glass off and took a sip. "It's wild... thinking about Ed pulling a mind whammy like that on... on like everyone at work. It's funny, but I always thought he hated that kind of magic. The way he acted whenever someone would try it on one of us. But  _ no, _ apparently."   
  


"If you try calling me 'kiddo' again, I will beat your denim covered ass, BB."

Barry put an arm around her shoulders and grinned.   
  
"You're definitely not a kiddo anymore. Its one of the only things Lyds ever got right. You sure did spread your wings."

Maureen snorted, "Damn  _ straight _ , my  _ kid _ isn't even a kid anymore."

  
Leaning against the counter again, Barry shook his head, "Did you know the asshole stole my  _ car?" _   
  
Maureen sputtered into her drink, "He did  _ what now? _ "

  
  
He took a sip of his drink and chuckled quietly. "He did! I've got it back but he absolutely did. And I had to clean his  _ tickets _ out of the glove box." He made a grumbling noise. "The only good thing I can say is he took care of it."   
  
Leaning against Barry's arm, ignoring the odd chill, Maureen sighed and sipped her whiskey. It really was too good to keep knocking back.   
  
"You remember that club we found on our road trip to Canaveral? There's  _ so _ many of them on the West Coast. If there's  _ one _ thing I'll thank 'em for, it's showing me what to look for." Shaking her head, Maureen poured another finger width for herself and Barry.   
  
"S'fuckin'  _ bullshit _ , how you couldn't tell which way they'd jump one moment to the next."

 

"Yeah... It's uh... it's a grooming tactic, so says my therapist. Keeps you off balance so you keep looking for the good and they can get away with the bad shit."   
  
He downed his drink and stared into the empty glass for a long moment.   
  
"Then there was all the stuff you never saw... It's amazing what I've learned in the last couple months about saying  _ no _ to stuff and not being afraid."

 

" _ Fuck _ , BB....." Maureen wrapped her arm around his waist, holding him tighter, "Good.  _ Good _ , I'm....shit. I'm glad. Gods all know it took way too long for me to learn that one," She cackled, somewhat ruefully, "You'll notice my name didn't change, fuck that shit in general."

 

He started to raise his empty glass and reached for one of the remaining beers.   
  
"Proud of you, Mo. You grew up good, even if your kid's... fuck, he's like... Reed Richards! That's it! I've been trying to figure it out the whole time and he's Reed fucking Richards! Or like... Hank Pym. But he better not be Hank Pym actually cause you'll kick his ass if he is."

 

Maureen laughed, real and hearty this time,"NO, it's  _ worse. _ He's trying to be  _ Tony Stark _ , and doesn't realize that being a disaster is the  _ point _ of him..."   
  
Still laughing, she pushed her empty glass away, "Fuck, I'm loaded, don't know about you...." She snorted and shook her head, "Lucas'd be complaining about all my aged out slang by now..."

 

Barry tried to stand up straight and laughed when he stumbled.    
"Absolutely blitzed, here. Gotta make a note of that... or uh... or it's not science. Ghosts can get drunk when you give'em enough real real good whiskey. Also gotta text Lup so she knows not to... not to worry. Because I'm pretty sure I shouldn't drive if I can't figure out which one of those doors is real."   
  
He pulled his phone back out, fumbling it for a second.   
"And tell Lucas that if he's gonna be Stark, he uh... he at least needs to be like...  _ good _ Stark. Like... comic Stark and not movie Stark."   
  
_ hey lup, i got real dmrunk with mo and i wodn't bje back til tomovrrow. levo you ltos, bmarry _   
There was also a series of heart emojis and a cat he'd probably hit by accident. Probably.

Maureen scooted her chair back and tried to stand up, huffing a laugh as she wobbled,    
  
"Fuck me, I had better tolerance in my....long ago."   
  
Holding onto the table she leaned against Barry and directed him towards the door to the living room, where a blanket and pillow already sat on the couch,   
  
"Honestly, I was sort of thinking fifty years is a long time to shoot the shit over, so...."   
  
Barry's phone buzzed,   
  
_ LOL, hope its good drunk, <3 u 2, bi disaster _


	12. Chapter 12

  
Barry turned the old record player on just before the rain started, one of his old Sinatra albums filling the downstairs while he went about pulling windows down. By the time he was done and the first song was over, the rain was driving and the sky was dark. The wind whipped outside and Barry went to the door to check on the new bushes they'd put in. Everything looked fine.   
  
Going to the bottom of the stairs, he shouted up.   
"Hey Lup, are the windows closed up there? It's coming down like cats and dogs."   
  
And then came the first flash of lightning.

Lup suddenly appeared at the stair landing as if pulling one of Barry's ghost tricks, clattering down the staircase and giving him a tight smile,"S'all cool, locked up tight, curtains drawn and everythi-"   
  
The roll of thunder hit and Lup went still, her ears tight against her head.   
  
"-Everything. It's  _ fine. _ "

Barry had been about to go back to the living room, to watch the storm just like he always did. But then he caught the note of fear in her voice, saw the expression she was telegraphing even as she tried to deny it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.   
  
“What’s wrong, babe?”

Lup leaned into his embrace, slight tremors running up her ears as they flicked towards the windows in anticipation, "Just, uh," she laughed briefly, ".....Not a fan. Nooot a huge....fan of thunder and, and shit."   
  
Lightning flashed again and she flinched, eyes closing as she mentally counted down,   
  
".....Honestly, if we had the basement done, I'd, uh, I'd be down there. Not a great choice at the moment."

Barry’s gaze flicked towards the window at the flash, trying to see if the bolt was visible or just more cloud to cloud. But he felt her flinch and turned back to her, ignoring the show nature was putting on in favor of kissing her forehead lightly. He squashed down the first couple of things he wanted to say ( “it’s just lightning.” “What’s wrong with a storm, they’re fun.” ) and instead drew her towards the couch. The fact that she even considered the basement that they still mostly avoided... That said a lot.   
  
“Do you uh... do you just not like the loudness or uh... or is there more to it?”

“So, uh, when we were younger- like  _ young _ younger- we’d spend a lot of time out on the road? Before there was really, um, cars, and mo-motels.”    
  
Lup let herself be led to the couch and curled up for an instant before shooting up and grabbing her phone off a bookcase,   
“ _ Shit _ , TAAKO- ....fuck I hope Krav’s home....”    
  
She curled into Barry again, texting frantically.    
  
“Anyway, um..... so yeah, lots of not so fun memories there. “    
  
She drew in a shaky breath, “-plus the time I was experimenting with, uh, various evocation spells and like.... fucked up. One. Lightning one.”

He held her close, running his fingers through her hair. Then he stopped, a look of realization on his face. He touched a spot just under her sternum with gentle fingers.   
  
"Is that what that's from?"   
  
Barry had a habit of tracing her scars with idle fingers some nights when they lay together. There was something about seeing all the places life had touched her that drew him. Not that he liked that she'd been hurt, but... Well, it was hard to explain exactly why he couldn't help but touch the markings on her skin. Maybe it was just knowing that she'd survived all of that to make it to now.   
  
"I'd wondered..."

“Yeah,” Lup covered his hand with hers, then ran her fingers along the faded ink lines leading out from it, “Halley’s Comet was just a few years before, so once it healed, I got it traced over....” she frowned, “it probably needs a touch-up. Anyway, the spell. It’s this really awesome one where you catch lightning and pull it into yourself and then release it elsewhere. I found it in the  _ Universität _ library, like  _ clearly _ an old wizard duel spell. And this fucker, Greg Grimauldis, thought I couldn’t do it.”

He rested his head against hers, closing his eyes. There was another flash and he instinctively held her tighter. The thunder came hot on its heels only two Mississippis later. The storm was moving fast and it would be here soon.   
  
"Don't blame you not liking the storm then, Lup. I hope you showed him what's what."   
  
After a moment, he started to think, trying to remember the things he'd done in the hazy long ago when he'd been afraid, before he'd learned about positively and negatively charged ions in the atmosphere and the causes of lightning. It was so long ago, so distant. But he did remember that he'd always been distracted from the storm. Maybe that was the key, a good old-fashioned distraction.

Lup’s phone buzzed before she could answer-   
  
_-Buttmunch-_  
 _gonna lay on my dude and cast Netflix and Chill. You doing ok, goofus?_   
  
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lup texted an affirmative and tossed her phone on the ground as another bolt of lightning cracked nearly overhead. Burying her face into Barry’s neck, she mumbled,   
  
“Yeah, I did it. Just fucked up the entry point, which he said meant the whole ‘directed his spell into the sky’ didn’t COUNT, because he was a fuckhead. And still owes me fifteen marks. Dick.”   
  
Lup kept her eyes shut so she couldn’t see the next flash, which meant the loud _clap_ of thunder over them made her nearly levitate out of the couch.

"Sounds like an asshole." He kissed her cheek and then the spot just below her ear. "Doing okay, babe?"   
  
He nuzzled against her during the next strike, doing his best to provide comfort or at least a distraction. He was fizzing with extra energy as the electricity in the air hummed through his harness. He could feel it in the wires and that was... distinctly odd and definitely something he was going to have to tell Noelle about the next time they saw her.

Lup’s eyes were blown wide and her ears pinned down as she pushed against him, trying not to pant. A panic attack would not help the situation.    
  
“.... _ fine _ .”   
  
Her grip on his hand tightened, feeling his power humming over her skin, too excited to stay comfortably along its normal lines. It made a good distraction sensation wise, and she directed it along her sides and to the tense muscles in her back before realizing what she was doing,    
  
“Oh  _ shit _ , Bear, I’m sorry. Fuck.”

Barry focused on the power, pushing a bit more towards her, “It’s alright. If it helps you feel better then... then go ahead.”He smiled then and kissed her gently.   
  
“Want a distraction?”

Lup could feel the energy gathering above them, feel her magic coil along her veins in response, feel the storm loom over the house-   
  
- _its going to FIND me!_   
  
The panicked thought was not quite hysteria; she did indeed have a spell for calling down lightning, and her control was eroding with her fear.   
Suddenly, Barry’s magic was wrapping around her, the excited fizzing of it settling under her skin, meshing with her own power.   
  
_Barry’s_ magic came from a deep well inside himself. It could convert and feed off the free-flowing energy outside, but was not _part_ if it. As he held her, she could feel him like a shield; disrupting the normal flow of her magic into a new pattern. One that did NOT call for lightning to find it.   
  
She blinked. Her breathing slowed and his words registered, “Uhm. Maybe? Yes?”   
  
Carefully, she tugged lightly at the hooks she had in him, making it very obvious what she was doing, letting his power settle no more than skin deep, easy for him to pull back.

Lightning struck somewhere nearby and Barry turned her towards him, kissing her. When the roll of thunder finished, he ran a finger along the length of her ear, “Might be a dumb idea but uh... I bet you wouldn’t notice the lightning if say... maybe... I was going down on you right here.”   
  
His tone was a little coy but his expression was uncertain. He wasn’t sure this would work, and there were certainly ways it could go wrong. But he wanted her to feel better, wanted her to feel  _ safe. _

Lup blinked again, the adrenaline pounding through her easily focused into a new channel,    
  
“That....” she tilted her head, ear pushing against his finger, “-actually that sounds baller. Genius idea, really.”

Barry kissed her again and carefully slid off the couch to kneel in front of her, “Just uh... just give me colors every so often so I know you’re still good, okay? If this turns out to be a bad idea, I uh... I don’t want to like...”   
  
He trailed off, fingers already working on pulling her shorts off.

Lup lifted her hips, wiggling to help him get those off, feeling a tightness in her chest ease at the conversation. Barry was  _ here _ and touching her and wrapped all up in her power shielding her and she  _ loved _ him.    
  
“Colors for how I feel about what  _ you’re _ doing, or general state of Lupiness, cause it might be two different things, babe.”

“General state? Because... because babe, if the storm is still bothering you, then we need to figure something else out until uh... until you actually feel  _ safe.” _   
  
He leaned his head against the inside of her thigh, smiling up at her, “You deserve that.”

Lup’s eyes had been relaxing back into normal pupil sized parameters, but at this they flared out dark again. She gulped and ran a hand through Barry’s hair, trying to say anything past the lump in her throat, “I-“ 

she cleared her throat, ears relaxing forward out of their flattened pin. Slowly, she ran a tendril of her power along her tie to Barry, trying to coax him into following her back along the trails he’d left, “Can you feel how you’re spread out here, babe?”   


“I mean... Mostly? It’s a little rough with all the electricity in the air. It all sort of feels... fuzzy. But uh... but I was sort of trying to see if I could help with it since you were pulling already.”   
  
He kissed the inside of her thigh and let his power follow hers, though he certainly didn’t withdraw it at all. Instead, the power was blending, almost weaving together, braiding like the wards on their home.

Lup sighed, letting her head drop back, shoulders relaxing,    
  
“You’ve.... you’ve got me in a security blanket here, Bear,” She huffed, rueful, “lightning can’t get at me in here....” Sitting back up she ran her hand down his cheek, smiling, almost relaxed for the first time since the clouds started piling up outside.    
“Thunder’s gonna make me jump no matter how much head you give, sorry babe. Too many, many nights layin’ in ditches waiting to see if I get hit for that to leave....”    
  
Leaning forward, she kissed the top of his head fondly, “everything’s green as far as you’re concerned though.”

Barry smiled a little. "I know that. I just want to make sure you... well, not that you  _ know _ it, that you  _ believe _ it. It's subtle but different."   
  
He looked over at the record player for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the volume knob and turned it up. Then he turned back to her and kissed his way along the inside of her thigh. He hooked his fingers in the band of her boxers, not tugging them down yet but hinting that he would soon.   
  
"Love you." He murmured, nuzzling her through the fabric.

Lup bit her lip, fighting down another surge of tears, running her hand through his hair, “Love....” she cleared her throat, “I believe you, Bear.”

He looked up for one more moment and then focused his attention back down, running his fingers along her clit through the soft fabric.

Lup let herself settle back into the couch, shoving her latent anxiety to the side to focus on  _ this _ . On Barry’s hands on her, on the feeling of his magic fizzing under her skin, twining around hers in a way that was both comforting and.... _ interesting _ now that she could focus on it.    
It was never very easily under his control as it was, and the added electricity meant she could feel very physical tingles of power running along her limbs, down her spine, and up her neck to her ears.    
  
She let out another sigh that turned into a half giggle as a trail of fizzing static followed Barry’s fingers on her thigh.

Thunder rolled far above them as Barry tugged Lup’s boxers down, kissing his way down her hip. He found a bruise from a few nights ago and smiled, making doubly sure to kiss it. The moment he could get to it, he flicked his tongue over the top of her clit and then again more slowly.

Lup breathed in shakily, hand combing through Barry’s hair. Her ears were at a mostly relaxed forward flare, but tended to flick back at the thunder.

Normally, Barry was the kind of guy to go slow and patient, to enjoy slowly taking her apart inch by inch until she was begging for him for more. Today, he was the opposite. He had his mouth on her as quickly as he could, almost desperate in his need to make her feel amazing.

_ ”Shit-“ _ Lup bit her lip to keep her hips from stuttering up, swinging one leg over Barry’s shoulder to have something to push against and because she welcomed the contact.    
  
His mouth was not warm, never got beyond her own temperature, but that hardly mattered anymore when his tongue did  _ that _ , and it all meant  _ Barry _ anyway....    
  
“So good to me, babe, fuck-“

With a sly little grin, Barry decided to put their prior science to good use. He didn’t need to breathe, apparently, and he was damn well going to put it to use.    
  
He rested one hand on her leg, pulling her towards him. He tapped once on her leg, just letting her know he was good.

Lup looked down at the tap, ears flicked forward curiously, eyes widening as she realized what he meant, “Oh....oh  _ shit _ , babe, you-  _ fuck _ that’s hot, you gorgeous man-“    
  
Whining slightly, her leg on his shoulder flexed as she fought against her hips, fingers frantically running through Barry’s hair, tugging as they caught.

He ran the fingers of his other hand along her leg, moving up to grab her hip firmly. He was being perhaps a bit rougher than usual, but he trusted she would let him know if something was wrong.    
  
Then a thought went through his mind and Barry tried something new, wrapping everything he was feeling right now, the tight ball of lust and love and longing curled in his gut, in a little ball of magic and like a little payload getting launched into space, he beamed it down the still intertwined cords of magic running between them. He didn’t know if it worked that way, but he sure hoped it did.  
  
The feeling of Barry’s fingers pressing hard enough to leave bruises made Lup moan, tilting her hips against his mouth, and chanting his name softly, craving wanting needing.   
  
Their connection flexed, the woven net of their magic along her skin  _ crackled _ , and Lup felt-    
  
She felt  _ him _ , felt everything Barry felt for her ripple across her body and sink in, louder than a shout and gentler than his softest caresses.    
  
The breath went out of her it was a sensory overload she couldn’t concentrate on that AND his mouth AND his hand pressed on her hip AND-    
  
Lup arched up with a breathless wail, vision going white as she came HARD.

Barry was taken by surprise with just how hard Lup orgasmed by he couldn't help but feel a little smug. When he finally pulled back and took a breath, he smiled up at her. Not quite wanting to break that moment just yet, he stayed on his knees and nuzzled against her leg.   
  
"So uh..." His voice was a little hoarse and he smiled at her sheepishly before clearly his throat and trying again. "How you feeling now, babe?"

Lup gulped for air, legs shaking, and she wasn't sure she could feel her fingers yet. With an enormous amount of mental effort, she let her leg fall off Barry's shoulder and tugged the fingers she still had threaded through his curls.   
  
"Barry," her voice was thin and still breathless, "get the fuck up here and cuddle me."  
  
He settled on the couch beside her, wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against her shoulder.    
"Happily."

There was another roll of thunder overhead, still loud, but clearly moving on, and Lup couldn't even be bothered to flinch. Leaning into Barry's solid comfort, she mentally tugged on the mesh their magics had made, sleepily curious, and not really willing to unpluck it yet.   
  
"Did you know you could do that?"

"Not really, but I wanted to try. I thought... You know how uh... how you guys are always saying my magic is tied so heavily into emotion, I just wanted to see if I could do it the other way around and tie emotions into my magic."   
  
He ran his fingers through her hair as they leaned against each other, glad that if absolutely nothing else, he'd worn her out too much for her to be scared, "I guess it worked pretty good."  
  
Lup huffed, her voice slightly watery, " _ Yeah _ , a  _ bit _ ....."She pressed against him, throat tight, trying to send small pulses of affection down the cords connecting them. "This is really good too...wonder if-if I could make YOU one....never had anybody but Taako I would mix power with like this...."

Barry felt a hot blush rise to his cheeks with the first wave of emotion and he kissed the top of her head.    
"We uh... we could try. I mean... not now, clearly, but some other time. Might even be worth taking so notes on so I can figure out what the fuck I did later. I was uh... I was mostly working off instinct."

"mmmm, yeah later, s'how you break rules, not knowing they're there...."

Lup could feel herself drifting, wrapped in love and magic and the technically ghostly arms of her boyfriend, who was a treasure and a gift and needed a wake up call even halfway equal to tonight's adventure.   
  
There was another, softer roll of thunder, and what sounded like the heavens finally opening and letting down a torrential rain. Lup's final bit of tension relaxed.  _ Rain _ was fine, she was inside and could deal with  _ rain _ ....   
  
There was a soft noise as the record hit the end and a loud, petulant shriek from outside.   
Lup's eyes snapped open and her ears flipped up, "What was  _ that? _ "

Barry had been starting to drift into peaceful relaxation, his eyes half-lidded and his mind wandering. His head snapped up at the sound as well and he looked around.   
"Not in the house... Sounded like out back?" He glanced towards the kitchen. "Could be something come in from the woods, maybe?"   
  
He reached for her hand, eyebrows coming together as they heard it again, sounding piteous this time and perhaps a bit closer.   
  
"I don't actually know though..."

Lup rose up on her elbow, ears twitching to triangulate, and swung her legs over the side of the couch, grabbing for her boxers,"It's getting _closer_ -"  
  
The feeling of Barry's intertwined magic with hers stretched and relaxed as she padded through the library into the kitchen, ears flicking to dismiss the underlying whine of the fridge ( _Soon_ she would replace that and it could rest in fucking pieces) and slowly opened the back door a crack to listen for the noise again.  
  
A small, dark, bolt of _something_ darted through her legs,  
  
" _WHAT THE_ **FUCK?!** "

Barry was a step behind her and grabbed for the  _ something _ blindly as it ran by, not entirely sure what it was. Half a second later, he dropped it again with a yell of pain as it scratched the sensitive inside of his arm.   
  
"Fucking  _ shit." _   
He pressed a hand to the long, thin lines of red, wincing, and looked around confused,   
"Lup, what the fuck is that thing?"

Lup blinked, shutting the door slowly, her eyes flaring out into dark vision.    
"Uh...."   
  
There was a cupboard in the corner that was warped and didn't shut right. As Lup scanned the kitchen, she saw it had been shoved until it swung open. Cautiously, she walked over and peered in.   
  
Golden slitted eyes met her green ones and she saw the outline of a cat, right as it hissed irritably.   
  
".... _ Awwwwwwwww _ ...."

Barry, who couldn't see in the dark in the slightest and was beginning to realize that he was bleeding, wasn't entirely sure exactly what had suddenly changed her tune from swearing and confused to  _ something is being adorable. _ He moved next to her and tried to see into the cabinet to see what she was seeing.   
  
"Babe?"   
  
All he could see was the reflective sheen of eyeshine in the darkness. Then he looked at Lup and back into the shadows. He had no idea what was in there.

"Hey babe, I just bought you some tuna, should be in the pantry, can you grab me-" Lup glanced down at his arm, "....Or  _ I'll _ grab it and you go wash that. Poor baby's been out who knows where with her paws."   
  
Pushing herself up, she walked to the pantry to rummage through until she found the stack of cans. There was a soft growl from inside the cupboard as she moved away.

Barry very carefully toed the cabinet door back closed and went to wash his arm. The scratches weren't terribly deep but they stung and bled and he  _ still _ wasn't entirely clear what the 'poor baby' that was hiding in their cabinet was. But he supposed if Lup was getting it tuna, it was probably a cat. Hopefully, just a cat. There was always a chance a baby bobcat had gotten lost and found their house from the woods. He really, really hoped not.    
  
He pressed a clean cloth to his arm to stem the bleeding, mildly irritated with this one particular downside to his current state. It would take  _ ages _ before he healed enough for the bleeding to actually stop. But Lup was returning with the tuna, so he went to pull down a shallow bowl and started towards the drawer with the can opener before he remembered tuna cans were just pop-top now.    
He held the little bowl out to her.   
  
"So, uh... please tell me that's a cat in there and not like... something else."

Lup took it,  _ tsk _ ing over his arm, "We should see if Merle can speed that up tomorrow....huh? Oh, yeah, totally. Can't see enough of her to know if she's a stray or just got lost but this should help."   
  
Crouching in front of the cupboard, Lup dumped the whole can into the bowl and placed it on the floor,   
  
"Hey baby! Gonna leave this here and back off so you get your space, alright?"   
  
Backing up, she yanked a chair away from the table for Barry to sit in, and crouched on the floor around the sink corner, one ear tilted to see if the bait was taken.

Barry spun the chair around and dropped into it, keeping the cloth pressed to his arm, and then turned to watch as well. After a moment, a bedraggled ball of feline stepped out of the cabinet and scampered to the bowl. The kitten sniffed at the contents before starting to eat. It was long in the leg, just barely an adult, and clearly needed a bath and several good meals. Most importantly, in Barry's mind anyway, was that there were no signs of a collar.

Lup cooed softly, ears flared forward in interest,"She's all  _ wet _ ; aw honey, were you out in that all on your lonesome?"   
She paused, content to stay in her spot as the small tortoiseshell scarfed food,   
"Barry. Please don't tell me you're allergic to cats."

"Not as far as I know. I uh... We never had pets."   
He leaned forward a little, watching the cat and then Lup's face. After a long moment, he smiled at her fondly.   
  
"You know we're gonna have to figure out how to give the uh... the little ball of claws a bath, right? Because right now I'm guessing that she's about half mud."

"I'll hold her, you scrub her, I can heal faster anyway."   
  
The bowl was making a ceramic scratching noise as the cat pushed it along the floor, licking up the very last of the tuna. Slowly, Lup half rose and opened a drawer beside her with all the hand towels.   
The cat turned and glowered at her, before meowing imperiously, tail going up.   
  
" _ Yes _ , we can  _ definitely _ get you more, sweetieface, after the part you really aren't going to like...."   
Crouching again, Lup held out a hand, which the cat sniffed disdainfully and rubbed the side of her face against, " _ Barry........Barry, I love her.... _ "

“In the sink or do you wanna try getting her upstairs?”   
  
Barry stood slowly, not wanting to startle the little creature. A smile crossed his face at Lup’s tone and he started trying to decide mentally list the things they were going to need for their new cat.    
  
“We can keep her if uh... if you want. She’s a stray, right? I don’t think I see a collar.”   
  
He edged around carefully to look through the soaps on the counter. He wasn’t sure if any of them would be safe enough and good enough to cut through the layers of mud. After a moment, he picked up the bottle of dish detergent and then looked over at Lup.    
  
“Ready?”

“I can take her to the vet tomorrow before work, see if she’s microchipped....”    
  
Lup’s tone indicated that she did not think and did not WANT this to be the case. Carefully reaching out the dish towel, she scooped the cat up in one motion and stood. There was a protesting squawk from the cat, who wriggled until she was flopped lengthwise on Lup’s arm.    
  
A small, stuttering, crackling purr started up, as if she was not quite sure how to do it. Lup froze, ears falling in surprise and eyes going round.    
  
“ _ Barry...... _ ” Lup looked at the sink and back at the cat and pleadingly at Barry.

“Microchipped? I’m gonna... guess that doesn’t mean robot cats.”    
  
Barry quickly turned on the sink and moved so she could dump the cat in. The purring caught him off guard and he gave Lup a huge smile.   
  
“Even if she is someone else’s cat, I don’t think she’s gonna wanna go, babe. I think you’re her elf now.”   
  
He considered the detergent in his hand one more time, skimming the label.   
  
“This is gonna be safe for her, right?”

“It’s a tiny little, uuuuh, floppy disk people put in their pets with their info on it that can’t get lost like a collar.”    
  
Lup scratched the cat’s ear, “you’re gonna hate this, sweetie, but I promise it’s worth it.”    
  
The detergent got a shrug, “it’s safe for our hands, it’ll probably be bad for her fur if we use it long term but...”    
  
Carefully, she placed the cat in the sink, and was given a withering look, “Yeah I know; betrayal.”

“Babe, I love you and I have no idea what a floppy disk is other than like... Taako mentioned one once and said I didn’t need that covered. Is it like the uh... the rfid chip in my badge for the lab?”   
  
He’d spent an hour reading through everything he could on that technology when he’d gotten his new identification for work, much to Davenport’s annoyance when reading turned into actually experimenting with the tech.   
  
He poured a little detergent on his hand and lathered it up before settling to scrubbing their new friend. He was trying to be as gentle as he could and still strip the mud away. He was also understandably worried about fleas or lice or anything else she might have picked up in the woods near the house.   
  
“That’s right. Good girl. Don’t scratch. Please?”

“Right, I forgot you skipped right past that stage. Yeah, pretty much like that, they stick it in the flappy back of the neck skin.”    
  
Which is what Lup was gripping to keep the cat from flailing back at Barry as she turned the spigot along the cat’s back slowly. There was a protesting wail, but the cat seems more inclined to stand stiffly and yell than turn and scratch.   


Barry had gotten most of the mud off and was working on trying to sort out how best to clean her face without getting soap in her eyes when he realized she had stopped yelling. Well, stopped yelling as much at least. He scritched under her chin and she let him.    
  
His eyes were wide and he had a huge smile on his face as he looked at Lup then.   
  
“Fuck I hope she doesn’t have one of those. Our kitty now.”

Lup beamed at him, the cat glowered and sneezed.    
  
“Alright, we’re sacrificing another two hand towels to clean her face and dry her off, and I have a charm for fleas upstairs.”    
  
Lup rubbed the back of the cat’s ears, “we  _ probably _ shouldn’t name her until we know for sure....”

“I know you’re right.. but...” He went to grab a fresh pair of towels, dodging a flying paw as the cat decided she didn’t like him moving that suddenly. “But my heart disagrees.”   
  
He set one towel on the counter and took a breath.   
  
“Got her nice and tight?” He leaned in to start washing her face off with the cloth. “Sorry, little buddy, you’re  _ really _ not gonna like this.”

Lup adjusted her grip, holding the cat’s chest and front legs as she crooned soothing nonsense while Barry rubbed the dirt and a few foxtail stickers off her face.

The cat hissed, tail lashing in resentment, but did not bite, only trying to backup hard as Barry hit a small scab at the back of her ear.

“Sorry, buddy, sorry.”   
  
Barry paused in cleaning for a moment to give her a gentle rub behind the ears as an apology. A few minutes later, he had her cleaned and rinsed and reached for the dry towel.   
  
“If you get her dried off, I’ll go find a box and some blankets so she’s got somewhere to sleep tonight.”

“Baller, I’m sacrificing your tuna to her as an apology.”    
  
Lup was gentle as she dried the cat off, humming apologies and compliments. The cat seemed to perk up under this attention and accepted another third can of tuna as her due.    
  
Crouching next to her as she ate, Lup focused half her attention on the magic net she and Barry had made again. It tugged and flexed as Barry moved around the house, letting her know where he was like he was narrating it to her.    
  
This was comforting and uncomfortable by turns.    
  
As he came back with the box, she looked up at him and tugged the connection,    
“Think you can take this back on your own, babe? Or do I have to do half of it? I can’t tell from here”

Barry set the box on the floor where it would be warm and dry and started laying some of the sheets they’d declared too old to use in it.    
  
Frowning slightly, he considered the spell he’d woven, and the way the magic was still holding tight to both of them.   
  
“I’m not sure, babe. I think I can pull back what’s mine but I uh... I’m not sure I can separate it back out on my own.”   
  
The magic really was tightly woven, each strand of the net crafted from braided magic. It was almost impossible for him to tell where his power ended and hers began.

Lup put the cat with her bowl of tuna water in the box. The cat ignored this change of station as long as she could keep eating.    
  
“Oh.... kaaaay.... let’s see if I fucked this up real bad or only a little.”    
  
Slowly, she sorted along their ties to find where hers lay, plucking at them to direct his attention to where hers started.    
  
What she had started as only a skin deep webbing had seemed to twist around her power lines and sink deeper, like but not like the hooks she had in Barry.    
  
This thought distracted her, “Bear, could you, hypothetically, yank some of my magic out along this?”

“I mean, yeah? Would that be a good idea?”   
  
He was tentatively trying to untangle things from his end, pulling back shreds of his power. “Make sure you add tuna to the grocery list...” He half mumbled it, watching the cat as he worked on the magic by feel. “Tuna for me. Cat food for her.”

“Probably not on a regular basis,” Lup admitted. She was slightly annoyed as Barry’s magic seemed to get  _ staticky _ against hers. It didn’t want to pull  _ cleanly _ . Frowning, she tried pulling hers mostly away, leaving a small tendril for his to wrap around and shoved it down their now much thicker connection.    
  
“Huh. Guess you can tap me like I tap you now.” She slung an arm around Barry’s shoulders, and leaned against him, feeling the busy night coming down on her firmly.

Barry leaned back against her and chuckled quietly. “That uh... that’s what she said.”   
  
He pulled the rest of it back into him, letting her magic flow through him. For just a moment, just until it settled, he was  _ warm. _ He radiated heat like he was alive and he felt warm to the touch.

Lup pressed her face into his neck and giggled helplessly, not sure what exactly the warmth meant, but enjoying it nonetheless.    
  
“Yes.... yes it is. Love you.”    
  
The cat had finished her tuna and was busy washing herself in an irritated sort of way that implied  _ they _ had messed up her plans.    
  
“So there was this kids book when Taako and I were kids. I think someone was trying to bounce off the Wizard of Oz books, but it... there was this place called Tesseralia, super chill place, and the illustrations of the food in it were  _ amazing. _ we read that book till it fell apart.”    
  
She paused looking at the cat, “so can we call her Tess?”

Barry laughed at that, turning to hug her tightly.   
  
“What happened to don’t name her until we know she doesn’t belong to someone, babe?” Then he kissed her lightly. “It’s a perfect name. Think we can trust her down here without a cat door or uh...”

“I decided when I felt her ribs, we fed her, she’s ours.”    
  
Lup’s ears twitched as she looked at the still bathing Tess.    
  
“Well, we don’t have a litter box yet, but I bet if we put a shit ton of paper towels down we could probably make it until tomorrow. No way I’m letting her go outside again after that fuss.”   


Barry blinked, confused, “Why not? Our neighbors used to let their cat out all the time. Isn’t that... normal?” He was already moving towards the counter to grab paper towels, “I mean, they kept ending up with kittens, which I guess is sort of a problem.”

“Yeah, well, it’s still raining for one. And for two, what you get with free-ranging cats is short-lived cats.” Lup grabbed another one of their loose boxes and laid it next to Tess’s sleeping box, “Let’s see if you’re enough of a smartypants to figure this out on your own, sweetieface.”    
  
Standing up, she stretched hugely, glancing around at the brightly lit kitchen, the softer lighting of the library, and ears twitching at the rain beating at the windows.    
It seemed like a good time to pack it all in.    
  
“I’ll talk to the vet about seeing if she needs to be spayed tomorrow.”

"Makes sense... Yeah."   
  
He looked at the cat and the impromptu litter box, making a mental note to make sure he checked where he stepped in the morning. Then he turned and smiled at Lup.   
  
"I'll do a grocery run while you handle that. Meet you at the pet store after for like... cat shit?"

“Sounds good, I’ll see if we can leave her there for the morning and take a long lunch to bring her home.”    
  
The words felt  _ right _ leaving her mouth, in this space, at this time. Home was standing in a kitchen with Barry, watching their new cat settle into her box, feeling the strumming of magic between them, as the rain drummed a pattern on the roof.    
  
(Later, home would include Tess finding her way into their bedroom and deciding that Barry’s face was the best place to sleep. But he didn’t need to breathe so it was fine.)


	13. Chapter 13

It hadn't taken him long at all to sort out the new parameters for his existence. No, not when there were so few less rules, not when he had so many more options, so much more power available to him. Did they have even a fraction of an idea how powerful these devices were? Part of him had considered seeing if he could find the creator, but the excitable halfling seemed to be long gone. So instead, he had decided to carry on with his plans. The obvious targets, the obvious pathways for his plans to follow, were unavailable, too heavily protected. But he could follow them, could see where they went and what they did. Which was how he found the research lab. And it hadn't taken much effort to see who came and went, to determine who had power and what kind. He had learned to avoid the dwarf, the one who's touch could surely destroy the undead if he ever cared to notice. He learned too to avoid the studious one who's wards were as solid as steel and as clear as glass. No, his target was much more simple, much less well defended. There was one irritatingly cheerful human who seemed to work there without the benefit of any magic or seemingly any useful education. He would be a perfect target.   
  
So Edward had waited and learned the schedule and habits of this Magnus Burnsides until one even when he saw the man leaving the lab early with a cheerful smile and a bounce in his stride. He was standing in the doorway still, chatting with the woman at the desk in a full shout.   
  
"Yeah, we've got another date tonight and she just finished up another mission so she's home for a while. I mean... She's staying with me for the weekend. I mean... I should get going! See you later, Ren!"   
  


Edward followed Magnus. Followed him back to his apartment, followed him as he went to pick up this woman from the airport, followed them as they headed towards a restaurant. That was when he chose to strike. He'd left the harness back where he was staying. He didn't need a physical form for something like this. In fact, he was better without one. The first blast was pure, raw power and Magnus shrugged it off, turning towards where it had come from with a shouted "What the fuck?" The second blast was more control, more focused. It caught Magnus in the chest and he fell backwards, eyes wide in wordless, silent screaming pain. Edward smiled slowly, watching the man cough and try to catch his breath. It was oddly gratifying. And of course, the spell wouldn't  _ kill _ him. He was useless dead. He was much more useful as someone living and breathing who could send a message. Slowly, Edward manifested, his handsome face twisted with sick glee.   
  
"If you could, darling, please send my regards to Barry and... what was her name again? As yes.  _ Lup." _   
  
Magnus gasped, trying to pull himself to his feet. Then something suddenly slammed into Edward's face. He reeled backwards and realized he was staring at an absolutely furious woman. One who had just punched him and was ready and willing to do it again. And she was wearing one of those harnesses. She was a ghost.   
  
"Don't you  _ fucking _ touch my boyfriend again, asshole!"   
  


* * *

 

  
Word of what had happened made it to the rest of the team that night by way of Julia and then Davenport. Magnus was in the hospital and would be for some time. None of the doctors were entirely sure what had happened to him but the team knew one thing to be completely true: Edward was done with hiding.

 

Lup ran her knife up the cutting board in swift chops, fucking  _ mincing _ the onion she was holding and scooped it in one movement into the already hot frying pan. Ears flat, she grabbed the peeled garlic on the other side of the cutting board and smashed them into paste, a few cuts to make sure they separated and into the pan, and  _ stir _ .   
  
Tess  _ mrrp _ ed her disapproval from her stool, where she was loafed with ears tensed forward as she caught Lup's mood. Lup sighed and grabbed her spices with less anger,   
  
" _ Sorry _ , Tess."   
  
There was the sound of cars outside, and her ear twitched at Taako's voice. Good. He could help with the squash.   
  
"Hey, they're here, Babe! Taako won't know about the new locks!"

 

Barry was fuming. He was a simmering ball of fury waiting for a time and a place to explode, but thus far he’d managed to keep it tamped down, hidden away where no one could see it. Maybe Lup could feel it, but if she could, she hadn’t said. Hopefully, today they would come up with a plan. Hopefully, today they would find a way to bring this story to a close.    
  
He went to the door and paused before opening it, “Have you got Tess?”

 

Lup glanced at Tess whose eyes had gone to the doorway into the library and sighed, setting her spatula down. Scooping her up, she buried her face into Tess's belly,   
  
"Yeah, she's secured!"

 

Barry unlocked the door and opened it, waving to Taako. Kravitz was a step behind him, face tight and arms full of what looked like file folders stuffed with papers. Lucretia was pulling in now, her shields so tight around her that the air seemed to ripple as she walked. That just left Davenport and Merle and they were pulling in.    
  
He hoped this wouldn't take too long. Another minute Edward was out there was another person who could get hurt.

 

Taako brushed past Barry, giving him a side hug that was almost there and gone as he walked into the kitchen, and stopped.   
Lup was sitting on Tess's chair and stirring her garlic and onions as Tess nosed her ear and purred uproariously.   
  
" _ Lulu _ . There's a  _ cat _ in your  _ kitchen _ ," Taako walked past her to the summer squash laying out and started cutting it.    
  
"Knew you got all those PhD's for being smart...." Lup kissed the top of Tess's head and slowly stood up to grab her meat and sauce.   
  
"No but  _ really _ , Lu, while you're  _ cooking _ -"   
  
"Cat hair is now just a fact of life in this household, Munch."

 

Kravitz dropped into a chair as he moved into the kitchen, already pulling out the report that had been compiled on Edward. It was everything his organization had managed to compile about Edward in the time he had been with them. It wasn't much, at least not so far as his capabilities went. And the fact that he had managed  _ this? _ Well, that was unexpected and he didn't like that at all.   
  
Merle gave Barry a grin as he walked in, breaking off the conversation he was in the middle of with Davenport about weekend plans. "Count to ten, kid. You've got that look. You know the one." But then he went into the kitchen with a smile on his face. "I brought gauc."   
  
Once everyone was inside, Barry shut the door and went to lean against the wall where he could listen and try to keep the fury in check. He looked down then, realizing what Merle must have meant. Shaking his head a little, he closed his eyes and started to count slowly. It didn't help.

 

Lup finished stirring the meat and squash into the pan as she smiled at Merle and reached for her tomato sauce, "Merle, we're having  _ Italian _ tonight, what the fuck?"   
  
"What, you think guac doesn't go with everything?" he patted her hip and went searching for a bowl as Tess circled him, sniffing, tail held high in a question mark, "How you kids hanging on?"   
  
Lup blew a raspberry, got hip checked by Taako and shoved him back, "Barry's broken three dishes and a lamp without thinking about it. I just went and cleared some of the weeds out back. It's fine. We're doing something about it tonight."   
  
Merle hmphed, finding a bowl and dumping his guacamole into it. Tess decided his shorts didn't have enough cat hair on them and went to work rectifying that.

 

Davenport glanced around, almost as though he was expecting to see something fly out of the place at the reminder of what happened sometimes when Barry was upset. Then he nodded.   
  
"Understandable. And I do have an update on that situation. Julia's staying with Magnus in the hospital until the doctors are prepared to release him and he  _ is _ on the mend. She doesn't know what the spell was, unfortunately, but she did see it and provided a description. So, Taako, Lup, you get to analyze that when you're done with dinner.    
  
When Davenport had finished, Lucretia cut in.   
  
"I went to Maur's earlier today and put up as many wards as I could think of, including several so it should be difficult for him to even  _ remember _ her and Lucas. She's staying there until we get this dealt with."

 

Lup nodded, then looked around at the gathering in her kitchen, and her ears flicked back, "Alright,  _ out _ . Go sit in the living room like  _ normal ass _ people."   
  
"No one in this crew has a normal ass-" Lup didn't catch who muttered that, but it probably wasn't Taako since he bent over the counter, howling with tension breaking laughter.   
  
Leaving him to it, she walked into the living room to find Barry and sling an arm around his shoulders, "Maureen's fine, Lucretia made sure."

 

Barry took a breath, nodding a little. "Good... good. I mean... I don't think he'd..." Then he exhaled slowly. "Fuck, I don't even know anymore. He just might."   
  
The others were settling into seats in the living room instead now, though Kravitz hadn't moved. He was still going through paperwork in the kitchen while Taako cooked. He wanted things to be organized before he joined the war council.    
  
Davenport didn't sit either. He was pacing. He had a habit of pacing at times like this, times when action was necessary but not immediately possible. He hated times like this. They reminded him of far too many nights spent on call in a Cold War bunker in the frozen north waiting to see if  _ this time _ he would be called to action. He never was.   
  
"As far as I'm concerned," he began, voice deadly serious. "From this moment forward, no member of this team is to be alone outside protections for any reason. Lucretia, that includes you. Your wards are good, but don't take unnecessary risks. Does anyone object?"   
  


Lucretia frowned but nodded slowly, Lup tugged Barry closer to the circle, leaning on the back of the couch,   
  
"Yeah, uuuuuuh, for how long? 'Cause defensive measures are  _ great _ and everything, but I don't like going from ward to ward just because some-"   
  
She struggled for words, too many piling up on her tongue for her to choose.   
  
" _ Asshole _ has a grudge."

 

Kravitz appeared then, a file in his hands.   
  
"Hopefully not too long. We're working on the situation. But I do have some notes for you so you can make your wards more... let's go with focused. It took a while to sort out precisely what's going on since its something we don't see very often but it seems that Edward and Lydia have been... dead  _ ish _ for quite some time. They are what is known as liches. Effectively something similar to Barry here but... more focused, fused with their own magic, and capable of possessing any body, including their own. I suspect this was their purpose in killing Barry, actually. Fueling that transformation. We should have a means of tracking him soon though, derived from some very careful analysis of his twin. Lydia has been... let's go with bribed. As soon as we've located him, a task force is going to move in to apprehend him. Problem solved. Just avoid giving him access to any more blood and any more victims and we should be fine."   
  
Barry tensed next to Lup and leaned against her more, trying not to think too much into Kravitz's words. Davenport was nodding along with what Kravitz was saying though, in clear agreement. Barry's chest felt tight and his stomach dropped. This was too much.

 

Lup made an imperious grabbing hand at Kravitz until he handed her the file with a raised eyebrow. Checking it over, her mouth twisted slightly into a sneer,   
  
"Yeah, ok, this looks like a simple enough adjustment. He's fucking  _ been _ here enough."   
  
Handing the file off to Lucretia, Lup looked up as Taako yelled at her from the kitchen and left Barry's side with an extra squeeze.   
  
Lucretia looked over the file much longer, with a more practiced eye and glanced up at Kravitz, "Do you have anyone looking after Magnus, or should I add these to his wards? Julia might be enough to keep  _ anyone _ off him, but..."

 

"I specifically put two of my favorite agents monitoring him. One is even an actual doctor, even if she doesn't work at that hospital normally. Magnus will be fine, I promise."   
  
Barry wasn't listening any more. He was thinking. Wards, hiding. Sure, sure, fine, whatever. That was good for the others. For the members of the team who could be killed. Yeah, definitely keep them safe. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of bullshit from fifty years ago that was definitely  _ his _ problem. He was looking around, trying to think of anything he could, any tiny thing he might remember about where to find Edward now. Then he froze. Of course.  _ Of course. _ He closed his eyes, diving into his magic for a moment. There they were, the old burned and scarred channels where Edward's magic used to run. He knew what they were now, knew what they felt like on a visceral level. And he knew he could follow that feeling back to its source. Maybe that wasn't how magic was supposed to work, but he damn well wasn't about to question it. Not when he could feel something almost like his old compass spinning inside him.    
  
He murmured something quietly, probably excusing himself while Davenport expressed appreciation for everything Kravitz was doing. Then he slipped out the front door, making sure it was closed behind him and locked. He knew where to go now, could have followed this line in his sleep. He was going to go pay Edward a visit and put an end to all of this, once and for all.

 

Lup and Taako had a quick argument over how soft cooked squash should be before starting to plate the food. Lup didn't even bother looking up as she called over the conversation,   
  
"Hey babe! Cheese or no cheese!"   
  
The lack of answer went unnoticed as Tess wound around her legs, demanding to be fed if everyone  _ else _ was eating,   
  
"Not  _ now _ , Tess, I fed you an hour ago-  _ Babe _ , cheese or-"   
  
She checked in the living room, counting heads, then counting again, frowning.    
  
Reaching down their connection, she tugged to see if he'd gone upstairs to the bathroom.....and Barry was no longer within the wards of the house.   
  
"Uh..... **Fuck** ."

 

Davenport looked over at the sound of Lup’s voice, a slight frown creasing his forehead.   
  
“Oh good, here, I have Julia’s notes on...” and then he trailed off, looking at her face. “Lup, what’s wrong?”   
  
Kravitz looked around then, suddenly realizing something was wrong.   
  
“...Barry. Where did he go?”

 

“He’s gone. He’s outside the wards.”   
  
Lup could feel her vision narrowing in panic as she ran for the door. Their connection tended to fuzz when one of them was under the wards and the other wasn’t, melding into their mixed magics surrounding the house.   
Lup yanked the door open, the handle was locked, but not the bar across the door, _Stupid_. _What the fuck was he thinking?_   
  
The Chevy was gone. Lup frantically opened the gate, stepping outside the wards and _there-_   
Already thinned by distance, leading away from the house. There were brief traces of Barry’s magic in the new tire tracks backing out-  
  
“He muffled his godsdamn car and drove off, that _idiot_.”   
  
Taako was behind her now, tense as a bowstring as he looked down the driveway.  
“Give the man credit, it’s inventive. His stuff always works when he’s not thinking too hard about it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Barry knew where he was going as soon as he'd gotten to the other side of the city. Just a few more turns now and... Yes, there it was. Perched far back from the road on the hillside stood a large house and he remembered every inch of it. It was a different color now than it had been back then, but it was so very familiar, so very much the same. There was the garage, though the car parked out front wasn't one he knew. There was the deck, the pool, the path that led out back into the hills. They'd gone up that way more than a few times over the years. He could probably still remember all the old trails, could probably still make his way to the clearing with the perfect view of the sky.    
  
He pulled into the driveway, feeling the wards ripple over him as he passed through. Of course they did. He was probably expected. Clenching his jaw, Barry looked around the car, suddenly realizing he was unarmed and outmatched on magical experience. A lesson Taako had given him flicked through his mind and he reached for the box of spare parts he'd chucked in the back the other day and never taken in. It was just random assorted pieces of electronics hardware, broken things he might be able to find a use for as he explored the exciting world of youtube maker tutorials. His hand closed on an old radio that had stopped working sometime in the 90s according to Lucretia and he considered it for a long moment before carefully snapping the antenna off and sticking it in his back pocket. There. Now he had a wand and that would help even the playing field, offensively at least.   
  
The front door opened as he approached and Barry's stomach dropped out. This was an absolutely awful idea, but he was too deep now to turn back. Taking a breath, Barry stepped inside.

The living room was nothing like he'd remembered. Where there had once been a comfortable couch, soft chairs, evidence of people living here and having their lives here, it was gone. Even the photos that had once covered every surface were gone. That was what struck Barry the most, the lack of photos. Even the photo of Keats as a wide-eyed, excited boy in his graduation cap and gown holding up his diploma with, they'd thought, his entire life ahead of him... Even that picture was gone.   
  
There were instead two large chairs, more thrones than anything else, flanking a fireplace. Edward was seated in one of them, almost casually. He looked up, head tilted to the side slightly as Barry stepped into the room, and smiled.   
  
"Hello, darling. Did you get my message?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: this chapter includes implications of rape/non-con and mind control

There were large chunks of Lup's memory that were fuzzy blurs of adrenaline and pain. It happened when you were over a century old, and had survived a war and many other extreme life events. She still wasn't sure what happened in the summer of 1933, only recalling that they'd lived in Berlin at the start of the year and were in France by that Candlenights.  
  
These last three days were on their way to joining those fuzzy blurs.   
  
Taako hadn't left, he'd stayed with her, that she remembered. She meditated on the bed she shared with Barry, curled around him and Tess, not even attempting to sleep for three nights. Kravitz had asked her what direction Barry was headed in before she felt their connection go distant and fuzzy, and she'd pointed at it, and he'd left to triangulate at work.   
  
Davenport and Lucretia had spent a day putting together a scrying mirror directly tuned to Barry, and had narrowed down his area further before the mirror went gray and cracked.   
  
Lup snapped out of meditation on the third morning, head clear and determined. She knew the area, she had fucking _Google_ and she was going to find her _fucking boyfriend_ today. Wards left a mark, and if they were strong enough to hide him, they were strong enough to be noticed if you knew what you were looking for.   
  
"Munch, I'm gonna go kick Edward's ass today, are you down?"

Taako’s eyes snapped open and he smiled, showing teeth. He recognized the tone in Lup’s voice and he was glad to hear it. It was a tone that had gotten them through more scrapes than he could remember.   
  
“Hell yeah.” He stretched and shoved the cat off his lap. “I just need to grab my kit. You figured out how to find this asshole?”   
  
He didn’t say a word about calling for backup. He didn’t even consider it. If Lup wanted the team, she’d say something. Until then, this was the Lup and Taako show.

Lup matched his toothy smile and stretched, reaching for her oldest jeans, leather jacket, and doc martens. Time to dress like she was on the warpath.   
  
“So Cap’nport and Lucy narrowed it down to the older west side of town. And I go to thinkin’ there’s that one neighborhood, Felicity Wilds? With all the old money people. Now _who_ does that sound like to you, Taako?”   
  
Taako snorted, pulling on leggings and grabbing for a pair of Lup’s older boots, “you wanna just wander around casting till we ping something or you have a better plan in mind?”   
  
Lup hesitated, pulled on her favorite ‘queer as in Fuck You’ shirt, and turned to him, ears up and determined.   
  
“Yeah, that’s about the shape of it. Wanna text Krav once we’re on the road?”   
  
Taako tilted his ears ironically at her, “-and can’t be stopped?”   
  
Lup bared her teeth again, “oh _that_ was never in question.”

It was impossible to mistake the feeling of those wards as they approached the neighborhood and Taako looked sick. He could feel the _blood_ at the base of those wards and he shot off another text to Kravitz, this time making absolutely sure that Krav knew where they were. Hopefully, the cavalry would be here soon. He turned towards Lup, checking the portable scanner in his lap.   
  
"Major spooky energy, Lulu. I think we found your boy. What's the plan? Please tell me you have a plan."

Lup’s ears were pinned back as she parked the car a few streets over from where the wards started, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, “How the _fuck_ do the neighbors not notice that even if they’re the most hard headed humans _possible?_ ”   
  
Grimacing, she glanced at Taako and shrugged.   
“I figured we’d knock. He’s invited us over, clearly.... plus, I don’t think there’s a way to get past those wards without being obvious.”   
  
Her ears dipped under Taako’s Look, but he shrugged and shook his head,   
  
“Alright, let’s tweak the powerful blood mage’s ears for funsies, why not?”

Taako's phone buzzed as he got out of the car and he checked it quickly.  
  
_love, please, whatever you do, don't go in there until-_   
  
The rest of the message was cut off by the end of the notification. He wasn't going to swipe into it. Hell, he wasn't even about to listen to it. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his light jacket, feeling the reassuring solidness of the crystals he'd tucked there.   
  
"Krav's on his way."

Lup reached out to grab his hand and squeezed, her other reaching for her wand. Their magic bounced back and forth between them, and Lup’s ears lifted, as she mentally tapped the connection between her and Barry.   
  
It was jittery and unclear, but she _did_ get a vague sense of it heading into the nasty wards. Good.   
  
They walked down the quiet street full of groomed front lawns and gardens, a sense of stiff Not Here ness behind the doors of the tall old Victorians.   
Lup stopped in front of the long, winding drive that demarcated the ward line. At the end of it was a two story, burgundy house with white trim. Lup’s nose wrinkled into a sneer at the roses surrounding it.   
  
“Those things have a _stasis_ on them, for fuck’s sake.”   
  
Squeezing Taako’s hand, she stepped forward.   
  
The wards _crawled_ over them, stinging anger and distaste, pushing back as Lup and Taako took one step together, then another.   
  
“Sincerely? Fuck _off_ ,” Taako muttered, his wand flaring into one of Lucretia’s personal shields.

The house seemed silent as they approached but there was motion beyond one of the large curtained windows. Just a flicker of a shadow and then it was gone. Taako reached to try the knob and pulled his hand back as the knob turned and the door pulled open. Standing there in the doorway with a bruise across one cheek that look suspiciously hand-shaped and strangely wearing a pastel blue polo and peach boardshorts was _Barry._   
  
For a long moment, Barry looked at them oddly. His eyes were distant, almost vacant, behind his glasses. Then he looked at each of them in turn and stepped back, leaving the door open as he turned away and headed into the living room.  
  
"He's been waiting for you to show up. Come on. Might as well get this over with."  
  
His voice was odd and at first it was hard to tell why. Then the answer snapped into place. Normally, Barry stumbled over his words. Even at his best, he had a bit of a stammer, a bit of a tendency to rethink his sentence in the middle of it. His words were coming out perfectly clearly.

Lup inhaled sharply at the sight of him, eyes flicking to his face, his eyes, briefly over his clothes and back to his face.  
  
“ _Barry-_ ” the word choked off in her throat, and she ignored the tears leaking out of her eyes. _Let_ Edward thinking they were grief, he would learn better. She wouldn’t even need her wand for it.   
  
Taako’s hand was the only thing that kept her from rushing into the house, fire blazing in her palms,   
“ _Stay cool, Lulu._ ”   
  
It took her a second to parse he was using their old road pidgin, not English, and by that time they were in the house, the door behind them and Edward was sitting on a **GODSDAMNED THRONE** with a _smug look_ on his face and Lup’s hand went white knuckled on her wand.   
  
“I seriously thought you had reached the depths of tacky, m’man,” Taako sounded disappointed. 

Barry didn't move to the other empty chair. Instead, he moved to kneel on the floor between them, closer to Edward's throne than to the empty one, with his head down. Edward reached over almost idly to run his fingers through Barry's hair. Then he shook his head and made a quiet tsking noise.  
  
_"Usually,_ when someone decides to visit, they call ahead. But I suppose I shouldn't expect such social niceties from the two of you." He sighed, overly dramatic, and then gestured broadly. "Well? To what do I owe the... visit?"

The many angry retorts she had been working on died in Lup’s throat as Barry knelt, her eyes locked on his face, hand holding Taako’s starting to shake.   
  
“Hey, _you_ issued the invite, dude, not, uh, not our fault you didn’t specify when. Or where.”   
  
He wasn’t responding to Lup’s pushing down their cord, she had just started with a ping, a small bounce of magic to see if he sent it back. It had been swallowed up with no indication Barry knew what it meant. Frantically, she added her _longing_ , her love, her panicked calling, and sent it determinedly down their bond.

Barry kept his head down. If he responded, Edward would be upset. If he responded, she would get hurt.   
  
"You weren't the one I was inviting." Edward tangled his fingers in Barry's hair and pulled back, forcing him to look up then. "I already got what I wanted. You've _lost,_ Lup. So you might as well just deal with it."   
  
\----- **Three Days Earlier** \------   
Barry pulled his wand out as he looked at Edward, hand shaking slightly.   
  
"Edward, we need to talk. You... you need to _stop."_   
  
Edward hummed curiously. "Do I, Barry? Are you going to make me? How exciting." He stood quickly and grabbed Barry's improvised wand with one hand, meeting his eyes. "Go ahead, challenge me. Do you think you really can?"   
  
Barry tried to pull back, tried to look away, but instead his eyes began to unfocus even as he realized Edward was layering spells over him. And then... and then there was nothing but a light crackling in his mind and Barry smiled. Edward rested his hand on Barry's cheek and pulled him closer.   
  
"There we are, pet. Isn't that better?"   
  
Barry leaned into that touch immediately, not hesitating in the slightest, and he nodded. Everything was fine.   
\--------------------------------   
  
Barry looked at Taako and Lup, part of his mind screaming and part vacant. He wanted them to leave, to be safe. He wanted to stay down, be good, follow the rules. If he followed the rules everything would be fine and his friends would be safe. Gods, had Lup been crying? He felt another little ping of magic, felt the emotions in it, and grabbed hold of it, clinging to it like it was all that mattered.

Barry’s grip on her magic was sudden, firm, fierce, _he was still in there_ , he was still _fighting_ , and she loved him, loved him so much she ached with it.   
  
Lup’s eyes flicked to Edward’s face now, half her mind pouring loveaffectionlonging _partner_ love _mine_ anger _comeback_ \- down their tie, the other half focused on Edward’s words, Taako’s trembling hand in hers, she loved _him_ too, his utter trust in her, and they had to hang on until backup came.   
  
“So weird,” her voice cracked, hoarse from emotion, “so _weird_ you keep breaking your toys when you use them. You’re just not very good at this, are you, Eddie?”

Edward’s jaw clenched, sudden fury on his face. He let go of Barry, standing in a fluid motion and a miasma of magic formed around his hand immediately. Barry’s eyes were wide, suddenly bright with panic. There were only two people in the world who could call Edward that. And even Lydia didn’t say it much. No. Keats had always been the one to call him Eddie.  
  
“We’ll see who ends up with broken toys, shan’t we? Maybe teach you a lesson about taking what isn’t yours to take.”   
  
For a moment, it looked like he might direct the spell at Barry and then at Lup. But when he directed the blast that was more than sufficient to cut through a little thing like a ward spell, it was careening at Taako.

Both of them had a brief moment to prepare, and unfortunately they chose _wrong_ , Taako pressing power into the side of his ward covering Lup.   
  
She _screamed_ as he went down, kneeling fast to keep their hands locked together and firing off a short ribbon of fire out of her wand. Her mind was still split in concentration, and she hissed before it even hit Edward, knowing he could wave it off.   
  
Taako panted, eyes flared dark with pain as he bounced a spell down their hands, off Lup, and back into his wand, aiming for Edward’s feet,   
  
“Hey thug, what up, I’m about to tentacle your _dick!_ ”

Edward tried to move out of the way but the tentacles wrapped firmly around him, binding him in place. He started to open his mouth to yell something and one tentacle crammed itself into his mouth and down his throat. Edward's eyes started to water as he gagged. Unlike Barry, he hadn't figured out how to stop breathing without panicking. That much was patently obvious.  
  
Barry stood then. For half a second, his eyes cleared but then the fog returned and his mind was nothing but a riot of static overlaid with a single focused Need. He had to protect Edward. He didn't have a wand any more. ( Edward had laughed at the antenna and snapped it in half. ) But he did have a riot of pain and emotions. Barry didn't focus, he could barely think past the crackling, angry fog that swamped his mind. He just _pushed._ He put everything he had into flinging Lup and Taako apart.

“I _warned_ him about that gay card,” Lup muttered, wrapping her arm around Taako’s waist to help him stand up. Suddenly Barry’s magic was fizzing over them, and Lup welcomed it briefly before realizing it was tugging and yanking and pulling, trying to tear her away from Taako.   
  
Biting off a wail, she spun on Barry, baring her teeth at the blank look in his eyes,   
  
“Taako, you got this?”   
  
“Yeah,” he bit out, wand focused firmly on Edward, flicking occasionally as he tried to gather energy around his hands, “another minute tops, maybe.”   
  
“Cool,” Lup breathed in, shoved her wand in her back pocket and reached that hand out to Barry, sending pings of loveaffectionpleading down their tie,   
  
“Babe, Bear, _Barry_ , c’mon sweetie. Let’s go _home_.”

Barry's eyes didn't even waver. He didn't (couldn't) notice anything outside the singleminded focus that was all he could manage. His world resolved down to the wand in Taako's hand and he focused on that, his mind full of destructive thoughts as he willed it to break, to shatter, to tear, to rend, to be gone. There was nothing so coherent as his usual methods, just pure violence.   
  
Edward struggled against the tentacles that held him bound. Then suddenly, he stopped. And then he did _something_ and it was like the harness just stopped working. Edward dropped through the tentacles and reappeared standing by one of the doors. He flickered for a moment before coming solid.   
  
"None of you seem to fully _appreciate_ the gift that these harnesses are. The sheer power they've given me. It's delightful, really." He stretched languidly. "Barry, darling, when you're done taking out the trash, it’s time to go."   
  
Barry nodded slightly and smiled.   
  
"Just a minute, Ed. Almost done." 

Lup’s eyes were leaking tears again, hand still held out to Barry, Barry whose gaze kept skittering over her face like he wasn’t seeing her, who kept talking in a straight line, a voice that was his but also _wasn’-t_.   
  
“ _Bear-_ ”  
  
A shimmering bubble poured between them, surrounding her and Taako in a sense of comfort and strength, cutting Edward off from them.   
  
“I cast _EVERYONE_ **CHILL!** ”  
  
Taako straightened, the crackling, blistered flesh on his  neck and arm knitting back together into bright pink new skin.   
  
Davenport was on Lup’s other side, Lucretia on Taako’s, helping to support him as he was able to stand completely.   
  
“I distinctly recall telling you _both_ not to go anywhere without backup. I _know_ I said that.”   
  
“In fairness, Cap’nport, neither of us _did_ ,” Lup smiled down at him, relief flooding through her.   
  
Taako was craning his head over his shoulder at Merle who had brought up the rear,   
  
“Did you use that line on _healing_ instead of _calm emotions,_ old man?”

Edward screamed as the light from the spell touched him but his scream was quickly drowned out by another. Barry's form was flickering dangerously even with the harness. He stumbled slightly, falling to his knees hard. Then he lashed out purely on instinct, not caring who or what he hit as long as the pain stopped. He needed the pain to stop. Between the burning on his skin and the burning in his mind, he needed it to stop.

“Merle, _shut the fuck off!_ ” was about all Lup managed before Barry’s pain and fear roiled over her.

She _keened_ , the feel of Taako’s arm around her waist vanishing as the sensation of carbonated ice so cold it _burned_ , rushed through her veins and magic pathways, her pain his pain echoing between them and increasing.   
  
Merle croaked a word that hit the brain without passing through the ears and his spell stopped. But still Barry’s fear and Lup’s rage bounced back and forth.   
  
“Mother of _fucks_ ,” Taako was trying to support her while _also_ being supported by Lucretia. “Fuckin come _on_ , Lulu, pull it _together-_ ”

The moment the pain stopped, Edward stumbled towards the nearest door. They would be busy dealing with Barry and he wasn't willing to face this many people in a fight. Not when they had the festering cleric with them. They could have Barry for all he cared. He had something more important to do. Far more important than facing a bunch of jumped up _children_ who wanted his plaything. He had a better power source now, one that could fuel the spell he'd never been able to cast.   
  
Barry was still wavering but at least the pain had stopped. He still couldn't _think_ but he wasn't in pain. And he was still holding tight to that little ball of _love_ that Lup had given him before. He let it sink into him and tried, _tried,_ to push against the magic holding him. He grabbed the connection between them and pulled. It was the rope that would pull him out of this hole. She was the light that would lead him out of the darkness.

Taako’s power sank easily into Lup’s; familiar and crackling with concern. He felt it as Barry pulled on his end, and twisted with Lup’s power, adding strength to her exhausted reaching.   
To Barry it felt like a veneer of disaffected annoyance overlaying a deep affection, reaching along with Lup’s _lovelovelove_ .   
  
_C’mon, Barold. Come back. You’re making my sister CRY._

Lucretia was the next to realize what was happening and rested a hand on Lup's shoulder, silently asking permission to add her magic to the mix. Receiving it, she centered herself and dropped an anchor, giving them something solid to fall back on and reached out to Barry with concern, friendship, fondness.   
  
_Remember what you said, Barry. Remember you have friends._

Merle reached up to touch Lucretia’s hip as he grabbed Davenport’s hand, not reaching out, but adding calm and certainty. Davenport’s magic buoyed Lup and Taako’s up, a fast running current giving them momentum.   
  
Lup sighed, her tears still running, but they were different, happier tears. Standing up on her own, Taako’s arm still resting on her waist, she reached out her hand again,   
  
“Please, Barry. Please come home.”

Barry grabbed the magic with everything he had and pulled himself back out, inch by inch. He flung off the part of himself that wanted to stay, wanted to make it easy, wanted to let someone else make all the choices. He abandoned rules he thought he knew and chose a future full of choices and mistakes and messiness and arguing and late nights and _love._ He stumbled to his feet and took a step forward, his eyes and his mind clearing as he grabbed Lup's hand.

Lucretia’s ward winked out the moment before Barry’s fingers touched it, Lup jumping forward to grab his hand and pull him into a tight embrace,   
  
“You _asshole!_ ” Lup was laughing and trying to stop crying as she cupped Barry’s face in her hands and kissed him deeply, “don’t you _ever_ do that shit again, _gods-_ ”   
  
Burying her face in his shoulder, she let out several hiccuping sobs, clinging tightly.

Barry hugged her tightly, a near constant stream of apologies on his lips. Now that he could think again, could _remember_ everything. Gods, he had so much to apologize for. Not just being stupid enough to think he could go after Edward alone, not just getting caught like that. The last few days had been... Fuck. And he _ached,_ physically and mentally.

Lucretia and Merle both moved to join the hug, Merle tugging Taako down when he seemed to want to act otherwise. Davenport sighed and reached a hand over to place it on Barry’s shoulder,   
  
“Okay gang, glad to see you back, Barry, but we should _probably_ not stay in the necromancer lair any longer than we have to.”   
  
Lup sobbed a laugh, wiping her eyes and kissing Barry’s cheek again.   
“Fuck. Right, and Kravitz should be pulling up any second. C’mon Bear, where’d that shithead put your jeans?”

Barry nodded a little, still swimming through the soup of disparate memories as things socketed themselves back into place. Jeans... Right, he was wearing the worst pair of shorts he had ever laid eyes on. He looked like a sales department reject, like one of those guys who talks a lot about the end of the quarter and how early he’d finished his quota and just how drunk he was going to get this weekend all in the same breath.  
  
And then he remembered where his jeans were and the humor in the image was gone.   
  
“They’re uh... they’re upstairs.” He half mumbled it, not wanting at all to say the second half. “His room.”

Lup stiffened, her arms squeezing tighter around him, trying not to choke on the curses she wanted to spit out until the air was full of blue tongues of flame-  
  
“I got ‘em,” Merle’s hand was on Barry’s shoulder briefly before he waddled for the stairs, “I got detect traps and everything.”   
  
As might be expected, that was when Kravitz’s team entered the room, not needing to bust down the door dramatically since Merle had left it open.   
  
Kravitz took in the scene, mouth going tight at Taako’s recently healed neck, flicked his gaze over Barry and Lup on the floor with Lucretia staring at him calmly over them.   
  
“What the _fuck_ is _WRONG_ with all of you?”


	15. Chapter 15

Barry woke up early as usual and carefully removed the cat from his upper chest (a compromise to her  _ actually _ sleeping on his face ) with a quiet apology. She settled right into the hollow he’d left as he got up and not for the thousandth time, Barry wondered if they owned the one cat in the universe who liked cold things.    
  
After a quick shower, he wandered back in to grab his jeans and a shirt and decide what he was going to do with the rest of the day. He still had a few dark bruises that were healing and stood out on his pale skin, a few long cuts that were hidden under bandages to keep them from opening again while he slowly healed. But overall, he was doing better.

Lup was leaning on one elbow, ears flicked up in alarm at the lack of Barry in bed. They relaxed lower as he walked back in and she made a face at his just washed hair, reaching out a hand to pull him closer,    
  
“It’s  _ Saturday _ ... too early, babe....”

He caught just a moment of that alarm and felt guilty, but he stuffed that down as something to deal with later when it wasn’t early on a Saturday, and got back into bed. He snuggled close, one arm around her waist.   
  
“Sorry, babe. Hit that uh... that sleep wall.”

“Mmmm,” Lup curled into him, pleased to find the shower had warmed his skin pleasantly. “This court finds you innocent of all crimes against Saturday mor-morning,” she yawned, a soft purring stuttering to life in her throat. Running a hand up Barry’s back, Lup drifted, content, not quite sleeping, just enjoying the feel of him here and solid.

Barry nuzzled against her, running his fingers through her hair. Tess, however, decided she had zero patience for not being fed if they were awake and climbed onto Barry's shoulder, maiowing loudly into his ear. He gave Lup an apologetic look and kissed her forehead.   
  
"Sorry, babe, but  _ someone _ disagrees with your uh... with your verdict. I think I'm being sentenced to community service. Gotta go feed the starving."

“S’ _ my _ house, I shouldn’t be cuddleblocked in my own fuckin’ house,” Lup pressed a kiss to Barry’s neck and sat up to stretch with a groan, and stared at Tess who jumped off the bed and ran out the door, tail waving high.    
  
“I’m going to sell you for  _ dog meat _ , cat.”

Barry laughed at that and kissed her once more before moving to follow after the cat. "Don't say things like that about our daughter, Lup. She'll get upset."   
  
He followed Tess down the stairs and grabbed the bag of crunchies from the cabinet while she wound around his legs purring loudly.   
  
"You know, you're not the... the one I wanted to listen to purr this morning, Tess. Just so we're totally clear on that front."

Tess indicated how many fucks she gave on this point by raising up bracing her front legs on his knee, miaowing plaintively.    
The water pipes in the kitchen wall rattled as Lup started her own shower. When she came down fifteen minutes later, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, Tess was washing her face on her stool so she could keep an eye on the bubbling coffee maker.    
  
“I love you and you’re amazing, Bear.”

Barry had just set her mug on the counter and he turned at the sound of her voice. "I love you too, Lup."   
  
He started to reach for the box of corn flakes sitting on the counter and stopped. Then he smiled brightly.   
  
"How about we go out for breakfast today? And then uh... and then maybe hit the hardware store. Maybe go pick out some carpet for the basement."

Lup picked up her mug, ears flicked high with interest,    
  
“Really?” She sipped, trying to calm her voice into casual again, “Magnus is off bed rest today.... maybe we could swing by and have him look at that work bench too.... he said something about trying to use some of it when he refinished the table.....?”

"Yeah, absolutely. Maybe only finish most of the basement? Leave that corner full of weird tools and the workbench and shit and put a carpet down for the rest. We could even put a tv down there." He went to grab the cream for her coffee and held it up. "You know I hadn't actually put cream in that yet, right?"

Lup blinked, looked into her mug, and wrinkled her nose,    
  
“I was doing so well until you said something....”    
  
She held it out for creamer, humming thoughtfully, “Should have Magnus bring his tape measures, see how much carpet we want.”    
  
She grinned after her next sip, and crossed the short distance between them to press a kiss against Barry’s temple.

Barry leaned against her and put an arm around her waist.    
  
"We don't need to know how much we need to pick it out though, right? Just color and stuff." He nuzzled against her shoulder, eyes closed. "Haven't really thought about like... colors but uh... if you wanna pick, that's fine. Just not uh... just maybe not a red carpet for down there. That's my only request."

Lup shuddered, “oh  _ hell _ no, not white either, just  _ asking _ for trouble. Something bright and maybe a super ugly pattern for when Tess inevitably starts horking up nasty stuff on it.”    
  
Leaning into Barry, her purr started again, soft and contented.    
  
“So where for breakfast?”

\-------------------------------------------   
  
The burial ground was silent as Edward limped in through the wrought iron gates. He wiped at the blood on his face with the back of his hand and oriented himself as quickly as he could. It had been years since he had come here, decades since he had been able to face what lay here. He turned to the right and limped down the path, eyes flicking across the signs he passed. Soon, he knew exactly where he was going. Even half a century couldn't dull this memory. It burned through his mind as clear and raw as that rainy day so long ago.   
  
He turned into one of the lawns, walking among the stones that stood there, each the same as the one beside it. After what seemed like ages, Edward finally found what he was searching for among the ranks of grave markers and dropped to his knees, resting a hand on the smooth white granite.   
  
"It was worth it. I promise, I'll make it all worth it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lup, Barry, and Edward will be back... in Incorporeal Reunion Tour. Coming Soon.


End file.
